Hitman Alchemist
by LunarFallenStar0o0
Summary: When Ed crossed over to our world, he lost his ability to age and is stuck as an eighteen year old! Tired of watching his friends die around him, he begins to travel alone around the world. Somehow, he came to work as a teacher in Namimori after the many years of his wandering. How will Tsuna and co. react to this strange, enigmatic new teacher? *EDITING*
1. Chapter 1

**LunarFallenStar: Hey guys! I noticed there weren't a lot of Katekyo Hitman Reborn and Fullmetal Alchemist crossovers out there so I decided to right my own. I'll get a few things straight first. This is taking place after the first FMA anime and Ed figured out that he doesn't age like Hoenheim and he's been alive for a long time so he starts hopping around the world not staying in a single place for long. So most of his friends are dead and he lives by himself, constantly traveling. This story is stationed in Katekyo Hitman Reborn between the Varia Arc and the Future Arc so Tsuna is in line to become the boss, but they haven't gone to the future yet.**

**Ok, on with this new story!**

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><p><strong>~In Front of Namimori~<strong>

Edward stood in front of the gates of Namimori Middle School. His travels had once more brought him to Japan, and had gone looking for a job. He was pleasantly surprised to find an opening as a teacher, hence why he was currently staring at the impassive middle school building.

He was already prepared for the looks he would receive from the students. After all, it's not every day you get seemingly eighteen year old teacher. If he told them his real age he'd probably be shipped off to some mental health facility.

In regards to his strange 'aging', it had come as a surprise first. When he finally figured out he wasn't aging, five years had passed in this world, and he'd barely changed a bit. Al even got taller than him!

The thought of his younger brother caused a small, barely noticeable frown to grace his lips. He sadly outlived Al… how he missed his little brother. He spent his whole life after Al's death wandering around, waiting for his own soul to finally pass on. He never understood why people craved eternal life. It was a constant curse weighing over his sanity.

Shaking his head to clear the negative thoughts, Ed let a small sigh pass his lips before he stepped onto the school grounds and begin his new 'adventure' in this school.

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><p><strong>~At Tsuna's House~<strong>

Sun slowly filtered in through the small window in Tsuna's bedroom, casting a pleasant glow over the room. The town and neighborhood was slowly waking up, people getting ready for their jobs and for other tasks. Everyone, that is, except a young Tsuna, who still lay sleeping peacefully in his bed. Such a shame that it was a school day, and his tutor doesn't tolerate tardiness.

The peace was interrupted by a loud thump, slightly muffled by various sheets and well, Tsuna's own head. The poor brunet was once more woken up by a large hammer swinging down on his head, wielded by none other than Reborn. It was a wonder he hadn't got serious brain damage (not that there was much too damage in the first place).

"Dame-Tsuna, get up!" Reborn chided, stepping into his student's line of sight, "You have school today."

Brown eyes widened slightly as Tsuna regarded the mafiaso with disbelief, before glancing at the calendar and spotting the messily circled date.

It was already the new school year, and that meant he would be getting a new class. He hoped that he would be lucky enough to end up in Kyoko's class. Naturally, he wished to be in the same class as his other, few friends, but he was mainly concerned about which class Kyoko would be in.

He was snapped out of his fantasies when his face collided rather painfully with the floor.

"Reborn! What was that for?" Tsuna whined, slowly pushing himself off the floor. His fingers tentatively felt his nose, briefly estimating the damage.

"A mafia boss shouldn't space out and give the enemy a time to strike," Reborn told him.

Tsuna groaned in irritation before glaring at the baby before him, "I told you already, Reborn! I don't want to be in the mafia!"

"Your going to be late at this rate," Reborn stated, quickly cutting off any further conversation, "Hurry up Dame-Tsuna."

Scrambling slightly, Tsuna turned to look at his clock. Reading the figures displayed, he felt panic seep through his body. He really did not want to be bitten to death by a certain tonfa-wielding prefect.

Quickly removing his sleepwear, he rushed to put on the stuffy uniform. Briefly checking in a mirror to make sure everything was on correctly, he didn't waste time with breakfast and rushed out the door. Nana looked into the hallway just in time to see the door slam shut, cutting off her son's rushed good-bye's in the middle. Shaking her head softly, she returned to the kitchen, a small smile on her face.

Still focused on getting to school on time, Tsuna barely registered the small weight on his head that signified Reborn was yet again hitching a ride on him.

"According to some gossip I've been hearing, your school is going to be getting a new teacher," Reborn began, "I've looked into it some, and they look quite qualified. Maybe even well suited enough to join your family."

Tsuna stumbled slightly in surprise at both his tutor's presence and words, "Reborn! Stop pointlessly dragging people into this! How'd you even manage to learn anything about this teacher?!"

"It is a tutor's job to check the backgrounds of the people affiliated with their student," Reborn responded simply.

Tsuna ignored him and picked up the pace when he heard the warning bell for class ringing. He charged onto school grounds and hurried over to where the new classes were assigned. His eyes quickly scanned over the lists and searched for his name. Finally spotting it, he didn't even bother to check whom he was with and just headed straight for his new classroom.

Walking briskly through the halls (Hibari wouldn't be too happy to find him running through them), Tsuna found his classroom rather easily, sliding the door open harshly. Eyes ghosting over the multiple faces he found in the room, he was relieved to find a few that he recognized. Briefly glancing up at the clock to find that he had a few minutes to spare, he headed over to his friends.

"Yo, Tsuna!" Yamamoto greeted, "Isn't it great we're in the same class this year? Even Gokudera is here too!"

"Baseball Idiot! Don't great Juudaime so casually!" Gokudera yelled, before turning to face Tsuna. Bowing slightly he offered a greeting, "Good morning, Juudaime."

"Gokudera-kun, Yamamoto!" Tsuna said, raising his hand in a small wave, "Good to see you guys!"

The door snapped open again and the noise echoed around the room slightly. A few heads turned to see the new arrivals, and turned away in disinterest when it wasn't any of their close friends. Tsuna's eyes, however, lingered on the two new arrivals. More specifically one of the new arrivals. Kyoko stood in the doorway, calmly walking in while idly talking to Hana who walked along beside her.

"Kyoko-chan…" Tsuna murmured happily to himself, thanking the gods silently for his good luck.

Noticing the trio, the two girls walked up to them and said their hello's. It didn't take long for the conversation to shift to that of idle gossip.

"I'm looking forward to this class," Kyoko said, features lighting up in excitement.

"Why?" Yamamoto inquired, shifting slightly towards the girl, displaying his interest.

"Well, this class gets the new teacher! He's a total enigma and such a strange name too..." Kyoko explained, trailing off slightly. When noticing Tsuna's expression falter briefly she continued, "Of course, I'm happy to be in a class with all my friends too!"

"Oh yeah," Hana responded, "I heard about him. They say he's German or something like that. Really smart too apparently…"

"I just hope he's not a crodgedy old fart," Gokudera muttered darkly.

"Maa, maa Gokudera," Yamamoto breathed, attempting to placate the moody Italian

The chattered around the room dimmed when the bell was heard resounding throughout the school. Lazily, they found their way into their seats and waited, watching the door patiently for the arrival of the new teacher.

The minutes dragged by lazily, until twelve minutes had passed. The students had resumed their conversations and idly waited for the teacher to show up, disinterest evolving out of their impatience. A random student was about to go to notify the office when the door slowly slid open with a grunt. Slowly, a foot crossed the invisible threshold, followed by a body, hidden away by an irritatingly large stack of papers.

The reactions varied. Some looked around in confusion, others stared intently. Some even showed no interest whatsoever. Tsuna however, was greatly interested in this 'enigma' of a teacher that had caught even Reborn's interest.

The figure slowly walked over to his desk, dropping his papers down in a huff on the sturdy surface. This teacher was obviously of smaller stature, as he was still hidden behind the stack of papers, as well as younger, or at least fit, considering he was able to carry such a large stack of papers in the first place.

Coughing to clear his throat, the mystery teacher slowly began to walk out from behind the obstacle, "Sorry, sorry. I got held up at the office and somehow got stuck with a load of paper work on my very first day. Quite a warm welcome from the school, really," The man's voice dripped with sarcasm at the last sentence.

When the light finally hit his form, no one could believe their eyes. Their new teacher looked like he was only eighteen years old, young twenties at most! He was wearing simple brown slacks with a matching vest over a white dress shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. If one was looking intently, you could see a barely perceptible difference in the skin tones of his arms. What also shocked them was his long, golden hair pulled back into a high ponytail, leaving only the bangs parted evenly in the center. A small antennae of hair poked up in between his bangs. His eyes were a fiercer shade of burning gold then his hair. If one were to gaze deeply into them, you would notice a seemingly never-leaving tinge of sadness.

"I'm your new teacher, Edward Elric. You don't have to call me Elric-sensei or anything like that, I don't like such stuffy titles. Just Ed or Edward would be fine by me," A small grin stretched across his face, "Now, introductions. As per usual, just go around the room and say your name. If you're feeling adventurous maybe even tell us something about yourself."

The long and tedious process of introductions began, and one by one, students stood and introduced themselves. This occurred without Tsuna's knowledge as his gaze was still fixed on his teacher, questions assaulting his mind. He looked around in confusion when laughter spread through the room.

Tsuna looked up and noticed with dread that it was his turn. Embarrassment caused his cheeks to flush when he realized he'd been spacing out for so long, and had been holding up the mandatory introductory process.

"Still No good Tsuna, isn't he?" One of his classmates questioned. The red on his cheeks darkened at the comment.

In his peripheral, he noticed Gokudera take a breath, eyes darkening considerably. The dynamite specialist was going to go off on a tangent, but was beaten to it. An authoritative voice filled the room quickly, demanding attention, "All of you be quiet right now. You're putting yourselves on a pretty high pedestal by saying that. No one is 'perfect' at everything so who gave you, who are just as flawed, the right to judge others? The only one in this room with the right to judge anyone is me. And from my observations so far, you all are the no-good ones. I shouldn't see anything like this again, got it?"

Tsuna looked up in amazement and gaped at his new teacher, the one who had defended him.

Edward looked at him and offered a small smile before asking, "What's your name?"

"Sawada Tsunayoshi…" Tsuna replied softly.

Edward closed his eyes and offered a small nod in confirmation. Turning to his class, he began, "Let's get started shall we?"

Everyone snapped out of their shocked obliviousness and got out their books to listen to the lesson.

Tsuna knew it for sure now that this was his favorite class.

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><p><strong>~Time Skip – At Lunch~<strong>

Tsuna, Gokudera, and Yamamoto slowly walked through the halls, talking lazily to each other. It was finally lunch hour and the trio was heading to where they would eat lunch. They usually would go up to the roof, but unfortunately Hibari was taking a nap there, and none of them wanted to wake up the irritable skylark. So, they'd decided to go eat under the cherry blossom trees instead.

Tsuna stopped however when he saw a flash of golden hair and changed directions, trying to get to his new favorite teacher.

"Tsuna! Where are you going?"

"I'll meet you guys later! I have to go do something!" He waved a dismissive hand, and refocused all of his attention on catching up to his teacher.

Tsuna walked briskly and rounded the corner, immediately spotting his teacher. Edward pace had slowed and his golden eyes scanned the scenery outside through the windows. Tsuna approached him, calling out softly, "Elric-sensei!"

Edward jumped slightly before turning around and smiling, "Ah, Tsunayoshi-kun, what did you need? And I thought I told you all that you could just call me plain Edward or Ed."

"Oh sorry, El- I mean Edward-sensei," Tsuna quickly corrected himself before answering his teacher's question, "I really just wanted to thank you for standing up for me earlier today."

"It's fine really," Edward ruffled Tsuna's hair, before drawing his hand back quickly, "Sorry, force of habit. You might want to get back to lunch though before the hour ends."

Ed turned around without a word and slowly continued down the hall, leaving a smiling Tsuna behind. He surprisingly didn't mind the childish treatment he had gotten in the form of a pat on the head. He turned on his heels and walked on towards his own destination, an air of happiness around him.

This happiness dissipated quickly, however, when he collided with another person. He was knocked backwards slightly, and stumbled to regain his balance. Looking up, he saw a group of upperclassmen who regularly targeted him staring down at him impassively.

They slowly advanced, causing to Tsuna to draw back, practically cornering himself. Face drawn up in a sneer, the leader growled, "'ey! Watch where you're going, Dame-Tsuna! Feelin' all high 'n mighty just 'cause a teacher took pity on your sorry soul? We're gonna' teach you a lesson, see? And without your little posse or precious new teacher around, you're totally helpless."

"Yeah! We're gonna teach you a painful lesson," Another hissed, "Then you can go crying back to your protectors."

Brown eyes screwed shut tightly, and Tsuna's form quivered as he drew back against the wall, trying to make himself seem as small as possible. He could hear a rustle of clothing and just knew their fists were pulling back, preparing to swing a punch. He braced himself for the impact, and heard a groan of pain. It took him a while to notice that the pained sound was not his own, but belonging to another. He opened his eyes and they widened as large as saucers.

Edward was lifting one of the thugs up by the back of his shirt, and another one lay cowering on the floor, cradling his bruised, and possibly fractured, hand that was already starting to slightly swell.

In a display of strength, Ed slammed the one he held by the shirt into a wall, and quickly caught a punch that was aimed at him by another goon. Hands still gripped tightly on the bully's wrist, he spun in a 180, and dragged the arm over his shoulder and hunched over, flinging the large teen over his shoulder. Tsuna gaped at the goon now sprawled on his back, defeated.

Ed merely had to look the final one's way and offer an angry glare, barking out a simple question, "Feeling lucky?"

A look of terror spread over the guy's face before he quickly whirled around and took off down the hall. Pulling themselves up off the floor, the other three took off after their fleeing friend.

Dusting off his hands, Ed reached back and tightened his ponytail. Allowing a soft sigh of relief to escape him, Ed turned to face his student, "Are you alright, Tsunayoshi-kun?"

"Y-yes," Tsuna stuttered, both shock and adrenaline still flooding his veins.

"I'll walk you to your friends," Edward told him, voice betraying his relief, "You sure do get in trouble with everyone here it seems. At this rate, I'm going to have to be like a body-guard. But I think your friend Gokudera's got that covered."

Edward laughed softly. He turned and started walking, Tsuna following behind him, briefly telling him where he was planning to eat lunch. A few moments of silence passed by before Tsuna worked up the courage to speak again.

"Why are you so nice to me, Edward-sensei?" Tsuna queried.

Edward's steps paused for a moment, eyes flicking downward for a moment in thought. He opened and closed his mouth a few times before actually speaking, carefully picking his words, "You remind me of my little brother in a way, I guess. You both are kind and gentle. You seem to care about and value your friends like he did..."

"Where is your brother?" Tsuna asked, mind not really quite registering the verb tense used in the blond's last sentence.

Ed's pace halted completely, and if Tsuna had been looking at his teacher, he would've noticed the man's eyes widen briefly, in what appeared to be horror or regret. His eyes took on their regular saddened hue, only more pronounced than normal, "He died a while ago... in an accident…"

"I'm sorry… I shouldn't have asked," Tsuna apologized, feeling a guilty for bringing up such a sad memory.

"No, it's fine…" Edward smiled softly, "He wouldn't want me to be so sad anyway."

They soon reached the outside of the school, and Ed watched as Tsuna began to walk to his group of friends. The brunet's steps stopped and he suddenly turned around, offering a cheerful wave good-bye. Ed smiled widely, the corners of his eyes crinkling slightly, and he offered his own small wave in return. The golden-haired teacher turned around and slowly began to retreat into the cool hallways of Namimori Middle School.

Reborn watched as Ed disappeared beyond view into the school building, "Edward Elric, a prodigy, more rather a genius, with almost know background information. Not to mention, he bears the same name as the mysterious bodyguard of Vongola Primo... A reincarnation? Or maybe... no, that's impossible. Everyone has to die at some point."

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><p><strong>LunarFallenStar: And done! I'm trying to give Edward a kind of older brother relationship to Tsuna… well R&amp;R everyone!<strong>

***edit*: Well, this is the first chapter that I've re-written/corrected. Hopefully there aren't too many grammatical errors, but eh, it's late and I'm tired, so this'll have to do currently.**


	2. Chapter 2

**LunarFallenStar: A new chapter! Woo-Hoo! Ok, I'm going to respond to some reviews right now. And thanks to everyone reading this!**

**Little Bookwyrm: Thanks for the review! I'm glad someone likes my story!**

**Phantom Hitman 1412: Thanks for the review, to the EXTREME! Thanks for the kind words and I hope you do well on your Katekyo Hitman Reborn crossover as well! I'm probably going to read it later when I have free time as I am using my free time to write this.**

_**~Previously~**_

_**They soon reached the outside of the school and Tsuna began to walk to his group of friends, waving good-bye to his teacher.**_

_**Reborn watched Edward's retreating form, "Edward Elric, personal bodyguard of Vongola Primo… how could he still be alive? He should've been dead a long time ago, unless this is just his descendant…with the same exact name. Very unlikely, I must do some research…"**_

**~With Edward~**

"I swear I'm starting to see things," Edward muttered to himself, "I think all of these years alive are causing me to go senile… Vongola Primo has been dead for a long time, but to now find someone who is the spitting image of him who has friends that are also the spitting image of his guardians… Ugh, Alphonse what should I do?"

Edward continued to walk whilst muttering to himself; he barely noticed the feeling of someone following him.

Over in the bushes outside the windows of the hallway Ed was walking through, Reborn sat patiently, watching the 'young' teacher walk slowly through the hallway.

Reborn was contemplating to himself. Very little was known about Giotto's personal bodyguard and close friend, the only well known thing was how he was called 'Fullmetal' for some reason. More research still needed to be done.

Reborn pulled his fedora tighter onto his head and walked back to where his student sat with his friends eating lunch.

He plopped himself down on Tsuna's head, not even bothering to steal his lunch…he had more important things on his mind.

The minutes ticked by quickly and soon the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. The tenth generation family stood up and cleaned the area. When that was finished, they began to walk back to class together, talking quietly.

Reborn took it as his cue to go do some research. He left to go to the library where he could quietly do some research that he definitely could not do so at the house as Lambo would constantly be bothering him.

When he reached the building, he snuck in with stealth and quickly got lost among the many books. He took Leon of his shoulder and changed him into a mini-computer and he quickly got to work, researching the mysterious Edward Elric.

He hadn't realized how long he had spent there until he heard the dismissal bell ring. Reborn had learned many things and needed to test something out.

He left the library, mulling over the information he had gathered. According to the Vongola's files, Vongola Primo's bodyguard had a prosthetic right arm and left leg, hence the name 'Fullmetal'.

Reborn soon reached the gates and waited patiently for his pupil to exit the building so they could go to Yamamoto's dojo in order to discuss his findings… the family needed to know.

With luck, he could also maybe get Mr. Elric to come as well… probably not, but what's wrong with hoping?

He returned his attention to the school building once he noticed the untamable mass of chestnut hair that defied gravity. Lucky for reborn, half of his guardians were already with him.

When they passed the gate, Reborn jumped onto Tsuna's head, "Dame-Tsuna, we need to go to Yamamoto's dojo for a meeting. Only You, Yamamoto, Gokudera, and Ryohei need to come at the moment so don't worry about the others."

Tsuna sighed, but agreed nonetheless. It was pointless to fight with reborn over some things.

They set off for the dojo, some silently fearing what would become of them.

**~At Edward's House~**

Even though Edward was alone, he purchased a house anyway as he didn't really like to deal with neighbors a lot.

It was a pretty small house, but pretty large if only for one person. Edward could still be considered a genius even now. He always had chemistry and science engrained into his memory. History was easy as he had been alive through most of it. Math was something that walked hand-in-hand with science so he was good at it. Language and Writing was good as well as he had plenty of time to learn many languages. So, even in this world, Edward was still a genius.

Almost all of the problems he had come across, he could answer quickly, but the only question that he really hadn't been able to solve was the mystery of the Vongola look-alikes.

Ever since Giotto had been overthrown, Edward cut himself away from the Vongola family and the mafia as a whole.

He was still quite the fighter though, but he still honestly preferred being a doctor, something he had been for quite a while. He was even known as the phantom doctor, treating a patient for a few days, but mysteriously disappearing right after the patient was well.

He had earned many names over the centuries he had been alive. Sometimes he thanked Truth for his longevity as he was able to help people, but he also cursed Truth, as he could not be reunited once more with his old friends who had died a long time ago…

He had probably completely changed his character over his lifetime. He was no longer hotheaded, as age mellowed him out. He no longer yearned to find a way to return home; he had no home to return to…even in Amestris.

Edward couldn't help but wonder how much longer he would be cursed to wander this world before he could finally die; maybe this was his punishment for committing the forbidden.

**~At the Dojo~**

The small group gathered around before, expectantly waiting what the tiny tutor was going to say.

"Everyone, I have called to talk to you at this place because a pressing matter has risen."

"What is it, the Varia again, another mafia family? I will protect Juudaime no matter what!" Gokudera assured.

"None of those, Gokudera," Reborn said, "This involves your new teacher."

"Edward-sensei?" Tsuna asked, tilting his head slightly to the side, "What's wrong with him?"

"I believe he may in fact be hundreds of years old," Reborn replied.

"That's old, to the EXTREME!" Ryohei said.

"I'm not positive, but it could very well be true… after all, Vongola Primo had a bodyguard whose description matches Mr. Elric perfectly. Even the names are the same."

Tsuna gaped slightly, "How are we going to find out the truth, though?"

"Simple. Primo's bodyguard had to prosthetic limbs. His right arm and left leg should be fake if he truly is Primo's bodyguard. The leg is from the knee down and it's the entire right arm."

"That still doesn't explain how we are going to figure out if he's really that old or not, kid," Yamamoto said.

"I have a plan," Reborn smiled slightly.

**LunarFallenStar: Done~! Yeah. Okay R&R everyone!**


	3. Chapter 3

**LunarFallenStar: Hey guys! So just a notice, I will not be able to update any of my stories from the eleventh to the eighteenth or nineteenth of February. So this might be my last update in awhile, but I might be able to post another chapter before I leave. I'm gonna' read some reviews now!**

**Fionlao: I have updated and thanks for your reviews! I always look forward to reading them. And I have updated pretty soon!**

**Little Bookwrym: Yep, Ed needs to watch out, because when Reborn has a scheme, nobody wins...except Reborn. Thanks for the kind review and I'm happy you like the story so far!**

**Phantom Hitman 1412: Yeah, I've read some of your story already and it is quite long and good!And you are right about how a meeting with reborn usually ends up with pain somewhere along the line... I laughed at your review when you talked about them being completely unfazed about finding out about how their '18' year old teacher could be hundreds of years old. Well, Tsuna (and the others eventually) fight with flames and there's a baby in the mafia that's one of the best hitman... yep, I wouldn't be to surprised either.**

**On with the story!**

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><p><strong><em>~Previously~<em>**

**_"That still doesn't explain how we are going to find out if he's really that old or not, kid," Yamamoto said._**

**_"I have a plan," Reborn smiled slightly._**

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><p>Today was the day, they were going to finally set their plan in motion. They were going to do many things to see if his limbs were real or not. No price was to high for progress is what Reborn told Tsuna, to which Tsuna immediately countered that if his limbs were real, they'd be broken beyond repair.<p>

Reborn brushed all of the warnings from his eccentric student off and set his plan in motion at last. Poor Edward... he doesn't stand a chance.

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><p>Edward walked down the halls of Namimori Middle, whistling slightly to himself. He probably wouldn't be whistling if he knew what was in store for him.<p>

It was currently a free period for the students and he was making the most of it, looking for a nice spot where he could take a relaxing nap. These constant classes were tiring him out. He was a scientist in Germany, of course under an alias of course, and had quite a good sum of money already saved up from his long stay here on earth.

He walked outside, enjoying the rays of sun on his skin.

"Elric-sensei!"

With a warm smile on his face, he turned to look at the approaching student, who was none other than Sasagawa Ryohei.

"Ah, Sasagawa-kun, what do you need?"

"Well, I need help to put up some of the boxing equipment like mats, dummies, and such," Determination flooded through his eyes, "You also look strong, to the EXTREME! Can you help!"

"Oh, sure why not?" Edward smiled, ignoring that Ryohei didn't really seem like his normal...extreme... self. He was being much to sheepish.

Edward would sometimes run into him during Ryohei's morning jog and the boy always seemed pumped.

The two walked to the boxing club-room and headed inside. Edward looked at the mess of mats and other practice equipment littered all over the place.

"What do you want me to put up first, Sasagawa-kun?"

"Could you help me with this mat first?" Ryohei asked, walking over to the mat, "It's heavy, to the EXTREME!"

Ignoring the ringing in Edward's ears from the unusually loud student, he walked over and grabbed the other end of the mat.

Ed slowly began to lift it, what he wasn't expecting was for Ryohei to 'accidentally' lift the mat up to fast and use to much force.

It all happened rather quickly, the mat flipped in the air and landed on none other than Edward Elric. More specifically, Edward Elric's right arm was now getting squashed by the mat.

"Elric-sensei, I am sorry, to the EXTREME!"

"It's fine really, not that big of a deal."

Edward used his arm to lift up the mat and roll out from underneath the offending equipment. He stood up and dusted off his pants, "Shall we continue?"

Edward didn't notice Ryohei staring intently at his arm, looking for bruising and the like. He also didn't notice a certain hitman staring at the scene through the window.

"Hmmm, not even flinching...rather strange indeed," Reborn muttered, "More research must be done."

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><p>Edward walked out of the bathroom as he had to fix his ponytail which had been horribly abused during his fall. He also had to check on his arm to see if any of the screws or gears had been damaged. Luck was on his side for once and there was no noticeable damage.<p>

He walked through the halls and headed to his classroom as his class would be starting in fifteen minutes.

He slid open the door and walked in and took a seat at his desk. He propped his head on his hand and stared out of window lazily.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when the door to his classroom snapped open and in rushed Gokudera, a deck of fortune telling cards in his hands.

_'This c_annot be good...' Ed thought to himself as Gokudera stood in front of his desk.

"Elric, I just learned how to read fortunes using cards and read palms and I need practice before I can actually do anything, are you willing to help me?"

Edward pinched the bridge of his nose, _'I knew Gokudera-kun liked paranormal stuff like this, but I never expected this to happen...' _Edward looked up at the Italian in front of him, "...fine..."

"Okay, just draw one card from this deck, but you can only use your right hand to draw a card. It's just some random rule that goes with fortune telling."

Edward reached out his hand and grabbed a card from in front of him, touching Gokudera's hand for a split second, but he just ignored it.

When Edward's hand hit his, Gokudera paid close attention, _'It was cold... not like a normal hand should be...'_

After Gokudera finished reading Edward's fortune with the cards, he asked to read Edward's palm...his right one. Gokudera grew suspicious when Edward tried to talk him out of it, but eventually consented.

Gokudera took Edward's hand and applied pressure, _'Not only is it cold, it's hard like metal. Reborn will like to know this.'_

Gokudera finished quickly and excused himself to his seat as students began to flow in. Class soon began and Edward began to get even more suspicious.

* * *

><p>Yet again, there was a free period, and Edward saw Yamamoto out practicing baseball by himself. Curious to see how well his student played, for he only heard the rumors, he went to watch.<p>

After a few more times where Yamamoto practiced his pitches, he just 'happened' to notice Edward, "Ed-sensei! Can you help me practice my batting?"

_'I must have horrible bad-luck today, because I'm fairly certain this won't end well.' _Edward hopped over the fence and walked over to Yamamoto, "Sure, why not?"

Edward was mentally face-palming himself, but he just can't refuse one of his students... he was also very grateful he dressed a little more casual than he usually did.

"Just throw me pitches and I'll be batter! I need practice 'cause I hurt my good arm," Yamamoto told him.

Ed nodded and picked up some baseballs and headed to his place to pitch.

He readied his arm to throw and Yamamoto went over what he had to do, _'Okay, aim for the left leg below the knee, or the right arm... got it! I just hope I don't hurt him. Talk about detention.'_

Yamamoto tightened his grip on the bat and watched as the baseball darted towards him. With a 'crack', he sent the ball flying...straight into Ed's shin.

After a few seconds, Ed flinched an obviously fake flinch.

"I'm so sorry, Ed-sensei! Let me take you to the nurse's office!" Yamamoto said running up to his teacher.

"It's fine Yamamoto-kun, I'll survive," Ed said.

Yamamoto watched as Ed walked off and hopped over the fence. Yamamoto smirked slightly, changing his attention to a nearby tree and flashed a grin.

In the tree, Reborn sat smirking with a speed radar in his hand, "He couldn't just walk right off after that kind of a hit. That ball would have at least fractured his shin."

* * *

><p>Finally, it was Tsuna's turn to carry out yet another part of Reborn's plan.<p>

Tsuna walked up to Ed's desk after class, leaving his bag at his desk, "Edward-sensei, I don't get how this works."

Ed looked at the problem Tsuna was showing, "Oh, Tsunayoshi-kun, I can show you a trick with scissors that can help you with that."

Tsuna nodded and went back to his desk, successfully retrieving the item. As he walked back to Ed's desk, he 'tripped' and began falling.

Edward shot up and ran over to catch him, not noticing the scissors in Tsuna's hands implant themselves in his arm.

When he caught Tsuna and helped him back to his feet, he finally noticed the shark object in his right arm, "Dammit..." He cursed under his breath.

Of course, that's when Reborn, Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Ryohei decided to make their entrance.

Since the other students were gone, everyone fixed their eyes upon the object sticking out of Ed's arm.

"Ummm, ow?" Ed said, shrugging innocently.

"The facade is over now, Edward Elric. Or should I say..." Reborn said, pulling out the scissors, "Bodyguard of Vongola Primo."

Reborn couldn't help but smirk in triumph when Edward's eyes visibly widened, "Dammit."

**LunarFallenStar: And there you go! Enjoy! Stay tuned for the next chapter and don't forget to review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**LunarFallenStar: Hey guys! New chapter right after when I get back from break! I hope you enjoy it, so let's read some reviews!**

**Phantom Hitman 1412: Thanks for the kind review! I can see Gokudera doing that easily too.**

**Fionlao: Thanks!**

**Little Bookwyrm: Yes, how will Ed get out of this? Read to find out.**

**SunshineAndMoonlight: Yeah, Ed's basically a human philosopher's stone in a nutshell. He became 'immortal' when Ed, Al, Eckhart, and the fallen soldiers crossed back through the gate to our world.**

**myathes: Thanks for the kind review and here's the new chapter!**

**animefan333: Thanks for the kind review and I'm planning to make Hibari take his entrance in this chapter or the next. Don't worry about your spelling, honestly, some of my guy-friends have a lot worse... 'nough said.**

**Soul of the World: Thanks for the kind review! I'm glad someone thinks my story is great!**

**On with the story and thanks again for reading!**

* * *

><p><strong><em>~Previously~<em>**

**_Since the other students were gone, everyone fixed their eyes upon the object sticking out of Ed's arm._**

**_"Ummm, ow?" Ed said, shrugging innocently._**

**_"The facade is over now, Edward Elric. Or should I say..." Reborn said, pulling out the scissors, "Bodyguard of Vongola Primo?"_**

**_Reborn couldn't help but smirk in triumph when Edward's eyes visibly widened, "Dammit."_**

* * *

><p>Ed looked around nervously, gripping for an excuse, a way out... SOMETHING to help him with this downright horrible situation.<p>

"Ummm, whose Giotto?" He asked, feigning innocence, "What are you talking about."

"You know exactly what I'm talking about Mr. Elric," Reborn smirked, "I never said Vongola Primo's name was Giotto."

Ed's eyes widened once more, "Dammit, I was never good at this. Al was the one who usually talked us out of trouble," Ed muttered to himself.

"Care to explain?" Reborn said once more, perching himself atop Tsuna's head.

"Sorry, kid, but I don't just go around giving my life story to people. Even if those people are my students."

"Dame-Tsuna here isn't just a student though," Reborn said, "He's in line to be the next boss, Vongola Decimo."

"Decimo..." Ed muttered to himself, "No wonder he looks like Giotto, and his friends, Giotto's guardians."

After a few minutes of uncertainty, Ed finally told them something only Al, Noah, and Giotto and his guardians new, "Fine... I'm technically immortal... but I've only been alive a little over a hundred years though... that's why I knew Giotto."

"Why are you so lenient with this information," Gokudera asked, suspicion dripping off his words.

"I'm not... you're the next Vongola generation and the re-encarnations of my friends, the first generation. Also, you would've tortured me until I told you."

"It's scary how true that is..." Tsuna muttered, thinking about his torturer- no, _tutor's_ spartan methods.

"Well, Mr. Elric, how would you like to assist me in tutoring the tenth generation in both school and mafia work and become the bodyguard of the next boss?" Reborn asked, "We need all the recruits in this famiglia we can get and plus, you'll blend in. You look like an eighteen year old."

Edward looked around in thought for a moment, but finally consented, "Fine, I'll do it. Besides, I've been itching for some action."

"Reborn, stop dragging people into this, and besides... I don't really want to become a mafia boss," Tsuna said.

Ed walked over to him and ruffled his hair, "Tsunayoshi, I'm 128 years old, I can handle myself. I know what I'm getting myself into."

"So, when can you start to train them?" Reborn asked.

"Tomorrow, I guess. It's a weekend," Ed replied quickly.

Reborn opened his mouth to agree, but was cut off when the door slid open loudly.

"Herbivores, what is the meaning of this crowding and you," The tonfa wielding prefect said, looking at Edward, "Your hair is to long for school rules, I'll bite you to death."

"Already so much like Alaude..." Ed muttered, thinking about the first generation cloud guardian.

"Ah, Hibari. Perfect timing," Reborn said, "You will go over to Mr. Elric's house tomorrow and train under him along with Ryohei, Tsuna, Yamamoto, and Gokudera. That's an order."

"Kid," Hibari said, "I'll go if you fight me."

"Later," Reborn said in response earning a grunt from Hibari.

Ed made his way to the door, carrying his bag, "I'll see you at my house tomorrow, I left directions on my desk. 8:00 in the morning, don't be late."

* * *

><p>The next morning, Ed opened his door to let in the group of teens on his porch inside.<p>

Tsuna stared at his favorite teacher. Ed was just wearing a plain red t-shirt and black jeans with no shoes. His hair was in a loose braid. Instead of the skin-like covering that was on his fake arm previously, Ed had taken it off, exposing the polished metal.

With the advancements of technology, they were able to develop automail much like the model he used back in Amestris. He was even able to fix it himself. Winry would be proud.

Edward led the group to his large, closed off back yard and sat down on the grass, "You will each have your own training course, it will help you with your abilities.

"First off, Tsuna," Edward said, pulling a large stack of books from a bag in the yard, "You will read all of these by today, no buts. It shouldn't be to difficult, I read through those when I was five.

"The rest of you, follow me."

Wordlessly, the group followed Edward, leaving a gaping Tsuna behind. Everyone, save Hibari, were amazed at the EXTREME size of this yard, as Ryohei would put it.

"Secondly, Yamamoto," Edward said, approaching a larger pond with a reed sticking out of the middle of it, "You will first balance on this reed for half an hour on your feet then your hands and finally work on flips. A swordsman must have balance and agility, this will help you with that, and also help you tune in to water, your main element. After that, you can try to do it without causing any ripples."

The group then left Yamamoto to himself and begin training.

"Gokudera, you will be doing this," The group approached a range with targets, "You're practicing this."

"I already practiced my aim with the womanizing doctor!"

"I'm not talking about with bombs, I mean with arrows. I'll be expecting you to be able to hit a leaf falling to the ground by the end of today."

The remainder of the group walked yet again to another place, "Ryohei, all you have to do is sit here quietly and meditate, focusing only on your energy, the sun's energy. You must be perfectly tuned into your surroundings."

Ed than walked with Hibari the rest of the way to where he would train the prefect.

"I'll be personally training you. From what Reborn tells me, you are already quite the fighter. We are going to spar so I can get a feel for your level, then I'll be able to help you easier."

"Herbivore, what's the meaning of the other's trainings," Hibari asks, which is incredibly out of character.

"It's simple," A high pitched voice says. They turn around to see none other than Reborn, "Tsuna needs to have more focus and control in general, which could help him slip into HDW mode even without the pill and would increase his power even more because both halves of him have focus. With Yamamoto, even though he learned a sword style, he still swings as if he's playing baseball. This will help Yamamoto find balance and precision, allowing him to fight easier, without having to use his fighting style. Gokudera can use this target practice so he's not limited to only bombs and thus would become an even greater asset to the famiglia. Ryohei is too impulsive and handles things on his passion instead of through focus and thinking. By meditation and tuning in to the things around him, he will be able to expand his fighting style even more so. And finally for you, Hibari, as you are one of the strongest guardians, Edward is testing you to see the true measure of your power so he can judge you on an even scale."

Edward nodded, "For a baby, you sure are smart."

Hibari grunted slightly and raised his tonfas, ready to charge.

Ed braced himself for the oncoming attack.

A thought nagged him in the back of his head of his old teacher Izumi, and if he would be anything like her, the only thing he could say is...

"Welcome to hell."

**LunarFallenStar: Done! Whew, new chapter. Read and Review everyone and I'll try to update soon!**


	5. Chapter 5

**LunarFallenStar: Hey guys! New update! So how do you like the story so far? I've been SUPER tired lately and haven't been able to type as regularly as I like... I'll respond to reviews now and thank you to every one reading this story!**

**SunshineAndMoonlight: I agree, Ed _has_ seen hell... repeatedly. Heck, he's lived through hell.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~Previously~<strong>_

**_Hibari grunted slightly and raised his tonfas, ready to charge._**

**_Ed braced himself for the oncoming attack._**

**_A thought nagged him in the back of his head of his old teacher Izumi, and if he would be anything like her, the only thing he could say is..._**

**_"Welcome to hell."_**

* * *

><p><strong>~At Ed's House~<strong>

They had been training for hours on end at Ed's house.

Ed looked at his students and reviewed their performances.

Tsunayoshi was doing... okay. He just wasn't able to focus really easily. He would definitely need to work on that if Tsuna was to slip into HDW mode without the pill or bullet.

Yamamoto was doing fairly well, he had difficulty with staying balanced though for long periods of time. Every five minutes or so, he'd fall into the water.

Gokudera was interesting to watch. He already hit bulls-eyes on the targets, but he was missing the leaves horribly. Heck, he almost hit Yamamoto... Ed had the suspicion it was on purpose though.

Ryohei was proving that it could be quite a challenge to just simply sit still, be quiet, and focus on nature. It's like the boy had to scream "Extreme" to get the oxygen to his brain and everywhere else.

Hibari was honestly the most promising one of the group. The only problem was, believe it or not, he left his legs unguarded. Sure, he could dodge most of the attacks aimed at his legs, but some would be impossible to evade unless the problem is corrected now.

Ed sighed to himself, "Al, what did I get myself into?"

Ed took one last look at his students before he went to talk to Reborn to notify him of their progress, or lack thereof.

* * *

><p>It was the next day and everyone finally managed to complete their tasks. Tsuna still couldn't quite reach HDW mode without the pill yet so he did the most logical thing.<p>

Tsuna and company (Except Hibari) gaped at the cliff before them.

Tsuna yelled, "I have to do this again?"

"Yep!" Ed smiled evilly, "You should be able to do this and help your chances of achieving HDW mode without the pill or bullet."

Tsuna sighed, "How do we know it will work?"

"And why do we have to do it with him?" Yamamoto uncharacteristically complained.

"Because Giotto and I took the challenge and achieved it," Ed replied, "And Yamamoto, it's because you may need the skill to produce a flame later. All the guardians have their own type of flame like Tsuna here."

"You have a flame?" Tsuna asked.

"Yes, but it hasn't been named yet though, Giotto said he never saw anything like it..." Ed said, "You know what to do so I'll see you guys at the top!"

Ed slowly closed his eyes and a dull grey flame appeared on his forehead. He walked off, flames propelling him. He was on a collision course for the wall and Tsuna was prepared to scream, but everyone stared in shock as the cliff stretched out to form steps along the side that he shot up, slowly going back into the cliff after he stepped on them. Blue electricity crackled along the surface of the cliff-face.

Tsuna sighed and faced the wall, dreading what came next.

* * *

><p>Ed looked up from the book he was comfortably reading to see a pair of hands reaching over the top of the cliff. He watched as Tsuna's spiky head peaked up from the side.<p>

Wordlessly, Ed pulled out a silver pocket watch and checked the time, "Ten minutes... not bad."

Ed walked over to him and Tsuna expected him to help him up. Ed did the exact opposite. Slowly, Ed raised his foot and lightly pushed Tsuna back over the side and into the water below, changing the air around him to slow his fall, "Try to do it in half the time this time!"

Ed ignored his name being used in a long string of curses and went back to his book, enjoying the pleasant sunshine and gentle breeze.

* * *

><p>They continued training for the rest of the day and they returned home with Edward telling them multiple stories which they liked hearing. The only thing is, they didn't know the stories were about him.<p>

He was suiting up for another day of training when he heard a faint knock on the door and he rushed over, met with the worried gaze of Nana Sawada.

She asked him if he had seen Tsuna to which he replied he had only seen him last night.

She left, sighing. Edward grew worried and said he would help look for Tsuna. The one thing that didn't settle right with him though was how the group had just disappeared out of the blue. Mysterious indeed...

* * *

><p><strong>LunarFallenStar: Sorry for the late update and short chapter. It was originally a LOT longer except my computer crashed while I was managing it and I lost everything except what I had already saved which wasn't that long and I did NOT want to type it all out again so this chapter is short and choppy! Sorry again, R&amp;R!<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**LunarFallenStar: Hey guys! This new chapter will start later in the future arc as really everything will happen the same way as in the anime and it would take forever to type all of it out! So, this is during the invasion of the Melone base and after Tsuna's fight with Genkishi, the phantom knight. On with the story and thanks for reading and reviewing! **

**Ignisha:Yep, it's the future arc already! I like introducing characters before the action and I wanted Ed to train them before they get sent to the future that way they could have at least some form of skill for the future.**

**Phantom Hitman 1412: Hahaha thanks for the review! I was laughing so hard. The only bad thing is that I got kicked out of the library along with my friends cause I checked it on my I-Pod...**

**SunshineAndMoonlight: Thanks for the review and I'm happy you like the story so much! Here's the new chapter!**

**Archsage328: Thanks for the review. And I know it's sad the only FMA character is Ed so far, but I don't really plan to include other characters from FMA in it considering the amount of Reborn! characters to keep up with plus characters from FMA. It would probably confuse me. And you guessed right with the future arc!**

**Pirate Queen of the 21st Century: Thanks for the kind review and I'm happy you like it! And yeah, I wanted Ed to have some access to an alchemy-like ability so that was an easy solution.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~Previously~<strong>_

_**The one thing that didn't settle right with Ed though was how the group had just disappeared out of the blue. Mysterious indeed...**_

* * *

><p>Edward ran around Namimori, looking for a trace of the teens that were part of the Tenth Generation of Vongola. He looked everywhere. The cliff where they had trained two days prior (falling off the cliff in the process. Karma's a bitch). That's write, they had been missing for TWO FRICKING DAYS! Edward was beyond pissed at them! He already was imagining the ways they could have screwed up whatever they did.<p>

No offense, but he could see Tsuna messing something up as well as Yamamoto. Of course, the young Lambo and I-Pin were merely children so that was a given. Gokudera would follow Tsuna anywhere so that made him an idiot, despite his high marks in his school. What really surprised him was how Kyoko and someone named Haru got lost. He never really met Haru personally, but assumed she was most likely similar to Kyoko.

He continued through town and finally decided to check Namimori Middle School. He knew it was a weekend so he carefully made it inside without alerting a certain tonfa-wielding prefect. He quickly checked over every room using his key. He was never more grateful to be a teacher.

He finally approached his final destination: the roof. Ed unlocked the door and slowly walked onto the roof checking for any sight of his dumb pupils.

Ed blinked a few times. This whole fiasco with the Vongola is slowly bringing out his old personality of when he was back in Amestris. After finally maturing from his easy-to-anger personality, he was getting it back. A hundred years of maturing down the drain.

All of a sudden, Ed's face collided with the ground. He slowly turned around when a voice reached his ears, "Herbivore, why are you here after school hours?"

Ed turned around and saw who he wanted to avoid: Hibari Kyoya.

"Hibari, after sparring with you for hours, you still call me an herbivore... I think I recall beating you a few times in a match?"

Hibari turned around and uncharacteristically told Edward to leave, saying that he would 'bite him to death' next time he did it.

Ed raised an eyebrow, 'His personality almost did a 180!' he thought to himself. He then noticed Hibari laying down and falling asleep, 'Then he goes and falls asleep, completely ignoring the confrontation!'

Ed did a double take however, when he saw Hibari disappearing in a flash of pink smoke, "What the Hell!" He yelled.

Ed left the school building after that, wanting to see if Ryohei was anywhere to be found.

* * *

><p>Ed walked down the road, he saw the loud Vongola sun guardian running down the road at high speeds. Ed noticed he was calling everyones' names, mainly Kyoko's. 'Damn, he's loud,' Ed thought, ears ringing.<p>

Ed stepped in front of the boxer and braced form impact. When Ryohei collided with him, Ed gripped the teen's shoulders and eventually slid to a stop a few feet from his original position, 'geez, this kid has quite a charge. Armstrong would be jealous!'

Ryohei eventually snapped out of his stupor and looked at his blonde teacher, "Elric?"

"Wheew, finally found you," Ed sighed, releasing his shoulders, "I was wondering if you knew where the others were."

"No, but I've been searching all over Japan for them!" Ryohei clenched his fist in passion, "I'm pumped to the EXTREME!"

The familiar sensation of his ears ringing returned once more, 'Isn't that excessive?'

Ed sighed, "So you don't know either. Well get back to your... search."

Ed slowly began to walk away, but turned around when an a 'poof' was heard. Pink smoke was in the place where Ryohei was previously standing and Ed mentally let out a string of curses. That was until he felt a tug on his body as if he was being pulled away to nothing, pink smoke clouding his vision.

After the unusual feeling disappeared, Ed opened his eyes only to see Tsuna and co. beaten and bloody in front of him. After the shock subsided, he shot out of the hospital-like building he was in, "WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN! I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU ALL OVER GOD-DAMN NAMIMORI! NOT TO MENTION I MOST LIKELY HAVE A CONCUSSION BECAUSE OF YOUR CLOUD GUARDIAN AND WHEN I FELL OFF A CLIFF LOOKING FOR YOUR SORRY ASSES!" (the rest of this sentence had to be cut from the story as it might shatter the innocence of some unsuspecting reader)

Everyone in the room flinched at the long string of curses flowing from the blonde's mouth.

Tsuna leaned over to his friends and whispered, "I didn't know that words like that even existed."

"He has a surprisingly...wide...vocabulary," Gokudera responded.

"I don't even here this kind of language from a drill-sergeant," Lal Mirch said.

"His vocabulary is colorful, to the EXTREME!" I think you all know who said that.

Yamamoto sweat-dropped, "I thought he was supposed to be a level-headed teacher."

Ed finally stopped his long string of curses, breathing heavily, "Anyhow, where the hell am I?"

"I guess Edward-san appeared at the right time, I was just about to explain," Irie Shouichi said, looking at the blonde haired alchemist in wonder, "Wow, he really wasn't kidding though about the whole immortality thing. I almost can't tell the difference besides the clothes and the lack of injuries."

"Who the hell are you?" Ed asked.

"I think your favorite teacher's personality just took a 180, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn said.

Tsuna sighed, "We'll explain everything later Edward-sensei."

Ed nodded, "Ok, Tsunayoshi-kun!" Ed said kindly, sounding like he hadn't just said practically every 'colorful' word in the dictionary.

"His personality seems to do 180's a lot," Lal Mirch said.

The others nodded.

* * *

><p><strong>LunarFallenStar: And done! I'm trying to make Ed have a split personality thing where he's level-headed and mature, but can quickly switch to the personality he had back in Amestris. So, stay tuned and R&amp;R! Thanks for Reading! I'm happy you like it!<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**LunarFallenStar: Hey guys! New Chapter! Hope you guys like it! This chapter's longer than normal. It's kinda' choppy to, but I hope you like it.**

**SunshineAndMoonlight: Thanks for the review and for Reading! And I thought Ed wouldn't really be Ed if he didn't have a little bit of an anger problem so I thought a split personality would work where he could be mature and immature at the same time.**

**Pirate Queen of the 21st Centry: Thanks for the review! And believe me, you will see his original personality a lot!**

**Phantom Hitman 1412: Thanks for Reviewing! And don't worry about the library thing, it happens quite often considering we usually act stupid in the library. (We go to a small school so the library isn't that large so we often go there and goof off) I'm happy that you like how I skipped some of the future arc as it can get kinda' boring... even though it's really cool, but it just spans over SO may episodes it gets boring. I'm glad you found the Gokudera part funny. I agree with you about Ed's personality. Everybody loves him cause of how he's like that. I think Ryohei and Armstrong are really alike, except one strips and sparkles and the other yells extreme and has flames. I bet even if Ed didn't live that long, he'd still know plenty of 'colorful' words. I'm planning on writing Choice. Also with the Giotto thing, you read my mind basically. I'm glad you like my story!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~Previously~<strong>_

_**Tsuna sighed, "We'll explain everything later Edward-sensei."**_

_**Ed nodded, "Ok, Tsunayoshi-kun!" Ed said kindly, sounding like he hadn't just said practically every 'colorful' word in the dictionary.**_

_**"His personality seems to do 180's a lot," Lal Mirch said.**_

_**The others nodded.**_

* * *

><p>Edward sat indian-style on one of the hospital-like beds. He crossed his arm, scowl evident on his face, "Please explain what is going on."<p>

"Well," Tsuna stepped forward, "Okay... don't freak out, but we are ten years in the future and currently the Vongola is almost wiped out."

Ed nodded, stoic, "Ok, please continue."

"You're taking this pretty well," Irie said.

"I'm immortal, the idea of time-travel isn't that farfetched. Plus, you guys fight with flames," Ed said, 'Also, I come from a different world that has human dolls that are powered by a stone,' Ed silently added.

Tsuna began to continue, "Ok, the Vongola is wiped out because of the Millefiore, a mafia family that is the merge of two mafia families: the Giglio Nero family and the Gesso family. We set out on a mission to defeat get back to the past originally and so we invaded this base to get to Irie Shouichi," Tsuna gestured to the man beside him, "Since we thought he held the key to returning home. So, we ended up fighting a whole bunch of people. One of the one's I fought named Spanner," Tsuna gestured to the other man, "Who helped me complete my new attack X-Burner. When we reached Shouichi, he told us this was an elaborate scheme set up by the future me, future Hibari, and him. He gave me the Vongola box weapon and he was just about to explain when you showed up."

Ed nodded and turned to Irie Shouichi, "So, you were going to tell him about the Vongola box?"

Irie nodded and turned back to the group, "Ok, to open that box, you will need the Arcobaleno seals. And I know what your going to say about all the Arcobaleno, excluding Lal Mirch and Reborn, being dead in this era, but I can send you temporarily back in time to compete in the trials. All of you who have come to the future will go back for one week, but then will return after hopefully completing all of the trials. Don't worry. Even though you have spent months here, it has only been three days at most in the past. Also, you must not tell anyone in the past about the future. Go restore you're energy and return quickly so I can send you into the past."

Everyone nodded and left to return to the base.

* * *

><p>As the group walked down the streets that were now clear of Millefiore members. As they walked through the streets, Ed watched as everyones' eyes lit up at the sight of their friends who had come to greet them. Ed sighed and smiled softly at the scene.<p>

After that, they returned to the Vongola HQ.

* * *

><p>Ed looked at the two girls and two children that seemed slightly downtrodden at the news of how they could only return to the past for a brief period of time. Ed looked at the floor, sighing again to himself. Since he was in a bed when he appeared here, he knew he would be alive for ten more years. How long will he be alive? That question constantly nagged at the back of his mind. In all honesty though, he was surprised about where he was when he came to the future. He usually only stays a few years before moving on to another place.<p>

Ed looked up when he heard a voice, "Elric-sensei?"

He saw the eyes of the two girls, "Ah, Kyoko and... Haru, I assume?"

"I'm kind of surprised to see you," Kyoko said, "I didn't see you around the base at all, I did hear that you were apart of whatever happened today though. I see you got sent to the future as well."

Ed nodded in response.

"This is your teacher?" Haru said, "He's so young!"

Ed smiled at the girl, "Hello, I haven't properly introduced myself. My name is Edward Elric, pleased to meat you."

Haru smiled at the teacher, "Hello, my name is Haru Miura. Pleased to meat you as well, Elric-san."

"Don't be so formal," Ed said, "You can call me Edward or Ed. I never really liked formal names anyway."

Haru looked taken aback, but gave in, "Fine, Ed-san."

Ed smiled and walked away from the two girls waving absentmindedly, "Don't worry about the others, I'll take care of 'em."

The girls looked at the retreating back of Edward in shock. Haru looked at Kyoko in surprise, "He could tell we were worried?"

"Hmmm," Kyoko replied.

* * *

><p>The group soon returned to the Millefiore base, prepared to return to the past.<p>

After Spanner and Irie finished the preparations, they felt the familiar tingling sensation as they were sent back to the past.

* * *

><p>After realizing they were back in Namimori, the group continued to walk back to their houses together.<p>

"Hey, where did Chrome and Elric go?" Gokudera questioned aloud.

"You forgot about Hibari," Yamamoto said.

"I don't care about the prefect," Gokudera retorted.

"Hmmm, I don't know where they went," Tsuna looked around, "Must've gone home already."

The others nodded and went on their way once more.

* * *

><p>Ed slowly opened his door and stepped inside his house. He closed the door behind him and locked it, an audible click echoing in the silence.<p>

He slowly walks down the hallway, smiling softly at the paintings he had done. He must admit, he thought he got rather good at art. After all, with all the time he had he should be pretty much good at it.

He looked at the pictures of him, Al, Winry... everyone. He sighed softly. Sometimes, he honestly wanted to die. Out of all the punishments he had thought he could receive for doing the forbidden, this was probably the worst one.

Ed absentmindedly looked out the window and sighed to himself, "Tsuna and the others better pass these trials... If they don't... who knows what will happen..."

Ed sighed once more, causing him to blink once more, "I've been sighing way to much. Most people would say it will cause my hair to grey, but let's face it...this hair isn't greying any time soon."

* * *

><p><strong>The Next Day<strong>

Ed walked up to the roof at lunch with his students who had asked him to accompany them so they could discuss the Arcobaleno trials.

"I don't see why you will need me to be apart of this conversation," Ed asked.

"You aren't even gonna' help us?" Gokudera asked incredulously, "The fate of the world's at stake!"

Ed sighed, "The trials are for those who bear the Vongola rings. If you are going to even get close to passing them or anything else in the future, you must stand on your own two feet."

An audible click resounded in the air and the guardians immediately pushed Tsuna away, ready to defend their boss. Tsuna blindly stumbled backwards, almost falling over, but was caught by Ed who was standing behind him. Tsuna looked down and saw a bullet hole in the roof.

Ed whistled, "Man, these trials are gonna be intense...well, some of them anyway."

"You all pass!" A voice said, "Except for you!"

They all watched as an infant jumped down onto the roof, pointing at Tsuna who just gaped at her in disbelief.

"Lal?"

The baby merely nodded and everyone watched as another baby dropped down onto the roof, the pair proceeding to get into a sparring match.

"Master Colonello?" Ryohei yelled in disbelief.

"Our first trial will be with you?" Tsuna asked, "We aren't going to fight here are we?"

"Of course not, kora!" Colonello responded.

"You would probably destroy the school if you did," Reborn added.

Tsuna panicked, thinking about a certain tonfa-wielding prefect that would most definitely kill them.

They began to set out for the trial site.

"I'm going with you," Ed said, "I'll need to see how much my students have improved."

Reborn nodded in response and they continued their journey.

* * *

><p>The group stood on the trial site. Tsuna, Ryohei, Yamamoto, and Gokudera standing on flat ground. Reborn, Lal Mirch, and Edward standing higher up on a cliff. The latter being the only ones that noticed Colonello's presence on a nearby rock.<p>

Ed sighed, "Geez, hyper intuition and he doesn't notice him? He's gonna be training a lot under my watch."

Ed merely watched on at the scene before him. Watching at how the guardians bickered childishly over who would fight with Tsuna.

When the fight began, Ed watched as Gokudera foolishly charged forward without a plan. It was loyal that he didn't want his boss to have to fight, but he was against an arcobaleno, he had to take it seriously.

Ed watched, face neutral, the fight before him. When it finally ended, he patted Tsuna softly on the head, "Good job."

Tsuna watched as his teacher walked off, waving over his shoulder, not turning around.

* * *

><p>Ed continued to live his life as if nothing happened. Only really interacting with Tsuna and co. when he watched the trials.<p>

It was the time for Reborn's trial and Edward stood back, silently watching as attack after attack was easily blocked by Reborn. Ed sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Ed watched in silence as Tsuna prepared to use the X-Burner on Reborn.

"He's really planning to use it on Reborn?" Gokudera asked out loud.

The corner of Ed's mouth twitched a little, almost forming a smile, "He might actually pass this trial..."

The other Arcobaleno watching nodded slightly in agreement.

The small smile on Ed's face slowly melted away to form a scowl when Tsuna lowered his hands.

"I can't do it..." Was the only thing Ed heard after that.

He watched as Tsuna's eyes widened, apparently from whatever Reborn said to him. Ed looked as Reborn pulled the trigger on his gun after carefully aiming it at Tsuna. A burst of light shot forth, colliding with Tsuna, a cloud of smoke obscuring the boy from view. Ed watched, scowl still present on his face, as Tsuna slowly fell down into the ground and lay there defeated.

Reborn walked forward and told Tsuna that he couldn't pass someone that wasn't meant to be a boss.

* * *

><p>Tsuna, Ryohei, Gokudera, and Yamamoto slowly awoke and realized they were in hospital beds. They looked up as Doctor Shamal dropped a couple of canned foods on Tsuna's lap. He informed them that they were the only ones on the island besides Chrome who was asleep upstairs.<p>

"I see you guys are finally awake,"Everyone looked up in surprise, even Shamal, to see who said it.

Tsuna's eyes widened, "Edward-sensei!"

Edward smiled slightly, not failing to notice the strange aura coming from doctor Shamal.

Shamal looked at Edward suspiciously, 'Golden hair, golden eyes... he fits the description of the famous teen doctor I heard about a few years ago... if he is the same person, he should be in his twenties, but he doesn't look older than eighteen. Also, Sawada just called him sensei... does that mean he's their teacher?' Shamal thought.

"Well, I'll be going then," Shamal said, walking out of the lighthouse where they were currently residing.

Tsuna looked up at Ed, "Why are you here?"

"I'm here to tell you something," Edward pulled up a chair and sat absentmindedly in it, his arms behind his head, "You know your fight with Reborn? I'm not going to lie to you... in all honesty I was really disappointed in you..."

Tsuna's eyes widened and he looked down, bangs shadowing his eyes.

"Don't say that to Juudaime!" Gokudera yelled.

"I'm saying the truth," Edward said, "Didn't you notice that Reborn didn't hesitate to hurt you, but when you had the chance, you didn't fight back? If Reborn could attack you all that easily, your determination could, and should, mirror that with the same fierceness displayed by Reborn."

"What right do you have to say that to Juudaime!" Gokudera roared.

"I'm speaking from experience, Gokudera," Edward responded calmly, "Back when I wasn't immortal and was 16 or 15, I had to kill."

"No duh," Gokudera said, "You were part of the mafia!"

"This was long before I got involved with the mafia," Edward said, "I didn't have to kill just anyone... I had to kill someone who was wearing the face of my own mother. I hesitated at first and if I hesitated any longer, I would've easily died along with my younger brother. It felt like I was killing my mother... like she was dying again by my own hands, but I realized that she would do the same to me."

Everyone's eyes relatively widened at what Edward had said. Ed got up slowly and turned around, leaving the lighthouse, "I'll stay on the island until you leave. After all, I'm still your bodyguard."

* * *

><p>Edward sat comfortably in a tree, looking at the sea's waves. He sighed, and closed his eyes, slipping into blissful sleep.<p>

Ed awoke with a start as he saw a green submarine-like thing attacking everyone, including the Arcobaleno. Ed closed his eyes once more, a silvery grey flame appearing on his forehead. He jumped out of the tree and calmly walked towards the beach.

Everyone turned around when they heard his footsteps approaching. Shock spelled out on their features when they saw who it was.

"I haven't gotten serious in a while," Edward said, wordlessly slipping off the skin cover on his automail, exposing the sleek metal of the automail plates. He loved how it looked like the automail from Amestris.

He continued to walk forward. Everyone began to watch as a small crater formed in the ground and a spear began to slowly rise out of it. Edward grabbed the spear and smirked at their surprised faces. With flames, he didn't have to clap his hands like he did in Amestris, he just had to spread his flames through the ground and use it like alchemy.

Ed twirled the spear experimentally a few times before finally holding it in a battle stance, a flame appearing on the weapon.

Verde released more of his box weapons to deal with the new opponent. Ed charged forward and slammed the head of the spear directly into the ground rooting it firmly. He grabbed the top of the spear and flipped over it, foot smacking directly into the head of the box weapon, defeating it.

Everyone, save the Arcobaleno, gaped in shock as he easily did it. The Arcobaleno were the only ones to notice the small flame igniting Edward's feet.

Edward flipped once more, effectively pulling out the spear in the process. When he landed, he threw the spear directly at Tsuna who freaked out. However the spear went right by Tsuna and hit a box weapon that was sneaking up upon the Decimo.

The spear dissolved into nothing and Ed created a new one, "Is that all you got? 'Cause I'm just warming up."

Verde clenched his teeth.

Tsuna gazed at his teacher, 'Sugoi* Edward-sensei is strong...'

The fight raged on and Edward watched as his pupils gradually wore themselves out. The arcobaleno were alright for now. Verde gritted his teeth. He needed to use his secret weapon. Everyone on shore watched as the submarine moved around, exposing a large gun-like thing. Ed's eyes widened as the gun was aimed directly at Tsuna and his guardians.

Ed ran forward as quickly as he could and stood protectively in front of Tsuna and the others, his flames slowly creating a large amount of barriers from earth to provide some shelter.

It was as if time slowed down. Everyone watched in horror as the gun fired, sending highly compressed lightning flames directly towards the group of Ed, Tsuna and his guardians.

Ed winced slightly as some of the flames went around the barrier and hit him. Luckily, Ed had released a large amount of his flames to form a large barrier separating Tsuna and his guardians from the flames. Everyone looked on as the barriers shattered and the flames hit Ed straight on.

They watched in horror as a spear enhanced by flame cut into Ed's stomach. When the attack stopped, Ed looked back and smiled at Tsuna before collapsing to the ground.

All of a sudden, Tsuna heard the surprised voices of the Arcobaleno. He whirled around only to see the Arcobaleno captured and hovering over to Verde's submarine.

Tsuna got up to fight once more and ignited his flames, followed shortly after by his guardians, only to have it taken away by Verde who captured the flame. Tsuna, Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Hibari collapsed, losing all of their energy as their flames were gone.

Ryohei and Chrome looked in horror at the scene before them. The Arcobalenos captured and unable to move, Edward bleeding out on the ground, and Tsuna and the others collapsed on the sand, all energy lost.

Verde unleashed box weapons to attack the now collapsed guardians, using their own flames as fuel, "Now, hand over the Vongola Rings."

Tsuna and the others hopelessly fought against the box weapons, unable to ignite their flames.

"T-Tsuna...yoshi..."

Tsuna glanced over his shoulder in surprise, seeing Edward slowly standing up, "Edward-sensei!"

"Remember...what Reborn... told...you," Ed told Tsuna.

Memories flashed over Tsuna's vision and he remembered how Reborn told him he lacked the resolve to protect everyone.

"I want to," Tsuna muttered, flames igniting, "I WANT TO PROTECT EVERYONE!"

"Juudaime," Gokudera looked at his boss in amazement, his own flames igniting, "Don't look down on the Vongola!"

Yamamoto looked at his friends and smiled, flames on his sword igniting as well. Hibari smirked and his tonfas ignited once more. They continued to beat back the box weapons. Tsuna leaped into the air and destroyed the machine paralyzing the Arcobaleno.

When they started to gain back more of their power, everyone's eyes widened when Verde's voice was heard once more, "If you won't hand over the Vongola rings, so be it."

They watched as the machines holding the Arcobaleno self-destructed and went crashing into the ocean below.

"REBORN!" Tsuna cried out.

"Dame-Tsuna."

Everyone gazed wide-eyed as the Arcobaleno appeared once more on the shore, completely unscathed. It was revealed that Mammon created an illusion to protect them from Verde when he saw the green powder.

They began to join forces once again and slowly began to defeat Verde. Tsuna prepared his X-Burner, but realized that the Verde they had been fighting was merely a robot, nothing more.

Tsuna returned to the beach and gritted his teeth in frustration. He knew Verde was nearby, but he still didn't like they had been fighting a robot.

The flame on Tsuna's forehead disappeared and his eyes reverted back to the caramel color they normally were. He turned to Edward and ran up to him.

"Edward-sensei!"

Edward opened one of his eyes and smiled at Tsuna.

"I'm sorry, Edward-sensei," Tsuna said, "It's all my fault!"

Ed reached his hand up and ruffled Tsuna's hair, "Don't be silly...Tsunayoshi."

Edward ignited his right hand in flames and cut the spear in half, slowly pulling out the offensive object. Tsuna flinched slightly at the wound, but gazed with eyes wide when the wound slowly healed itself.

"W-what?"

"One of the perks of being immortal," Ed smiled slightly.

Tsuna sighed exasperatedly and his eyes fell upon bumpy rock. The others nodded in understanding and they headed over to go find Verde.

* * *

><p>The group walked into Verde's lab and Ed smiled when Tsuna passed the trial. He was shocked out of his stupor when he heard Verde's voice, "You're fine after that attack?"<p>

Ed looked at Verde who stared at him in disbelief. Then, a knowing look spread across Verde's features, "I see, you're like us Arcobaleno, cursed to walk above time... for how long, I wonder."

Ed looked at the Arcobaleno in shock before looking away.

Verde smirked and then sank down into the floor. Everyone panicked when the lab slowly began to shake and self-destruct. Everyone ran out of the lab as fast as they could.

* * *

><p>Back on the beach, the group watched as the island sunk below the surface of the sea. Edward stood away from the group and watched as the group begged for Reborn to give them another chance. Edward smiled when Reborn told them they already passed his trial.<p>

They all watched in wonder as the rings glowed and what looked like a firework rose into the sky. Edward looked down in surprise when a voice caught his attention.

"What did Verde mean when he said you were like us?" Lal Mirch asked.

Reborn looked at Edward, asking a question silently earning a small nod from Ed.

Reborn looked at Lal Mirch, "Edward 'stands above time' like us. However, it's different for him. He's immortal, while we just have infantile bodies."

The Arcobalenos looked at Edward in disbelief.

"Your immortal, kora?" Colonello asked.

"Yep, 128 years and counting," Edward said with sarcastic enthusiasm.

The Arcobaleno looked at him in wonder and shock, but they eventually regained their mostly stoic personalities. (It's a mostly 'cause skull is there as well.)

They all parted and went their separate ways, preparing for their journey into the past.

* * *

><p><strong>The Next Day<strong>

The group stood in front of Namimori shrine. Slowly, everyone showed up, now, most of them were waiting for Hibari to show up. Tsuna paced worriedly, "Where's Hibari? I knew it, he's not going to show up."

"Stop worrying, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn chorused landing upon Tsuna's shoulder, "Just go through one at a time and we'll wait for Hibari."

Everyone nodded. A series of popping sounds were heard and soon Tsuna was the only one left by the shrine.

"Hurry up, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn said, kicking Tsuna towards the bazooka, "Time's up."

Another pop was heard and Tsuna awoke in the future. He looked around and saw Irie and Spanner along with some of the Vongola guardians.

"Yes!" Irie said, "It was a success!"

"Well, we got back, but," Tsuna said, "Hibari's not here with us."

Tsuna flenched when he felt cold metal pressed against his neck, "What were you saying about me, herbivore?"

Tsuna flinched, "H-H-Hibari..."

"Hibari-san came earlier than you," Irie told him.

Tsuna sighed and looked around, seeing his guardians and friends, "What about Byakuran? Has he found out?"

"No, it's only been ten minutes since you left for the past," Irie said, "I programmed it that way."

Ed whistled, "You thought of everything."

Irie nodded in response, smiling at Edward before turning to face Tsuna, "Are you prepared for the fights up ahead?"

"Yes," Tsuna nodded, "That's why we came back here. We can't afford to lose."

Everyone smiled at Tsuna.

"Wait one second though," Irie said, "You said you were immortal Elric-san. If that's so, even though you can't age, couldn't you still grow taller... I mean, no offense, you're kind of short."

"Yeah, you're right," Spanner said.

"He really is a chibi," Gokudera agreed.

"He's short to the EXTREME!"

"Maa, maa," Yamamoto said, "Don't say that... well, it's kinda' true, but still."

Edward's eyes narrowed dangerously, his antennae moving of its own accord. Everyone began to sweat (excluding Reborn and Hibari) as the murderous aura grew in the room. A dark aura surrounded Edward and his eyes held a scary glint.

Tsuna and Chrome cowered in fear and Reborn, Hibari, and Kusakabe remained relatively indifferent.

Ed walked forward slowly, grabbing the collars of Irie and Spanner's shirts in one hand and Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Ryohei's in the other. All of a sudden, he began to spin around, rendering the five males airborne.

"**WHO ARE YOU CALLING SMALL! CAN A SHORTY DO THIS HUH? WHAT ELSE DO YOU WANT TO CALL ME: HALF-PINT, BEAN-SPROUT, MIDGET? I'LL RIP OFF YOUR FEET AND STICK 'EM ON YOUR HEAD!"**

Tsuna watched in horror as Ed sent them flying before jumping on them and beating them to a bloody pulp. Without Al around, no one could hold him back.

"Um, Elric-san," Chrome muttered, "They didn't say anything like that..."

"Who cares!" Ed yelled getting up, "They still pissed me off!"

The others looked as the dust cleared, revealing a beaten and bloodied group of five.

"That attack was powerful... to the extreme..."

"Just imagine him as a pitcher in a baseball game," Yamamoto said.

"Freaking Napoleon Complex," Gokudera said.

"I want to see how that fake arm works now..." Spanner said.

Irie attempted to nod, "Such power."

Everyone sweat dropped at the scene except Ed who walked on, "So, what now?"

* * *

><p><strong>* sugoi = amazing <strong>

**LunarFallenStar: Done! Longer chapter than Normal! I hope you guys liked it! It was kinda' choppy and stuff, but I really didn't want to write a whole bunch of chapters...**


	8. Chapter 8

**LunarFallenStar: Hey guys! How's it going? Well, it's a new chapter and I hope you like it.**

**SunshineAndMoonlight: I'm glad you liked the end. I like it when there's some comedy to relieve tension.**

**Pirate Queen of the 21st Centry: I love the short rant as well, Ed isn't Ed without a short rant!**

**A Natsume Yuujinchou Lover: Hi! I'm glad you like my story and I agree, Ed is cool. I'd have to say my fav character in FMA would be a tie between Ed and Xiao Mei. Yes, I luv the panda. I'm not kidding! Xiao Mei is adorable. With Katekyo Hitman Reborn, I'd go with Tsuna or Lal Mirch. Tsuna because he's cute and a boss...literally. And Lal Mirch 'cause she's strong and badass!**

**Phantom Hitman 1412: Yep, it's a short rant. I think I might have Ed start clapping again for old time's sake, but I'm not sure yet. I'm hoping and praying Ed doesn't get experimented on by Verde... wait I just realized something. Verde kinda' reminds me of Shou Tucker in a way, except one's a baby and the other is... Tucker. I'm glad you're not mad about the choppiness.**

**333: Yep, Ed has a split personality. And about Byakuran, you'll just have to keep reading to find out!**

**Wolfsbane-Nin: YAY! I'm glad you think my fic is amazing! And I'm even more honored that you think it's one of the best! Yep, Ed's tempers still there. You can cure many things, but Ed's temper is not one of those things. I'm glad you liked Ed's flames. I wanted him to have some form of alchemy.**

**PoisonandSugar: Thanks for the review and I'm glad you like the story. And about Ed's age, there's a reason for that. Don't you worry.**

* * *

><p><strong><em>~Previously~<em>**

_**Everyone sweat dropped at the scene except Ed who walked on, "So, what now?"**_

* * *

><p>Everyone listened carefully as Irie explained about the trials and what's up ahead for them.<p>

"You really think that, Sho-chan?"

"That voice!" Irie said, panic taking over, "Byakuran!"

Everyone looked as a hologram appeared in the middle of the ruined lab.

Edward looked on with bored eyes as everyone else panicked. Byakuran kept talking, apparently 'proving' he would win and what not. Ed continued to absentmindedly listen, hearing about how Byakuran was challenging them to a game of choice and even showing them the 'real' funeral wreaths which we hadn't heard of.

Ed's eyebrow twitched. How long had this guy been talking? The white-haired man's voice, not to mention the chuckle, were getting more annoying by the second, "Would you get on with it you egotistical bastard? We've kinda' got things to do!"

Everyone turned around, looking at Edward incredulously. Even Byakuran, Ed noticed. Ed smirked as Byakuran, for once, was silent.

"Oh?" Byakuran said, "And who might you-"

Byakuran stopped once more, looking at the blonde closely, "Oh," Byakuran said, an unusual hum in his voice, "And why is 'The Hero of the People' Edward Elric here? Shouldn't you be dead, or missing?"

Ed's eyes widened slightly, "W-what?"

"Hmmm, as I thought," Byakuran said, "Well bye, Tsunayoshi-kun, Sho-chan. How about you see a first hand example of teleportation."

"Wait a minute you bastard!" Edward ran to the hologram, "How do you know that name? Tell me dammit!"

A chuckle was Ed's only response as the hologram slowly disappeared, a bright white light taking its place. Everyone (besides the 'stoic' people) dropped to their knees as a violent tremor shook the base.

When the light faded, they looked up, only to see that the rest of the Merone base was gone.

"Wow, so the teleportation is this powerful," Tsuna said, "But why didn't we get teleported as well?"

"Well, the Vongola rings, when all together form a barrier in a way that protected you from the teleportation," Irie responded.

"You've certainly thought of everything, though," Reborn said.

Irie rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "We'll deal with all the stuff here, you should all go and rest for the upcoming battles."

Reborn nodded and the others slowly followed him back to the base.

* * *

><p><strong>Back at Vongola Base<strong>

Everyone walked around the base, thinking about what had happened, 'How did Byakuran know about that name? It died a long time ago... with all of my past.'

Ed, not paying attention to where he was going, ran into Tsuna and co., not even noticing the alarm going off.

They were both sprawled out on the floor, "Oh, Tsunayoshi-kun, sorry. Are you alright?"

"Watch where you're going!" Gokudera yelled at Edward.

After helping Tsuna up Ed finally realized the alarm was going off, "What's going on?"

"Oh, Giannini detected a ring not to far from here and we're going to check it out," Yamamoto said.

"I'll go too," Edward said, "Fresh air will help me think."

The rest of the group nodded and they resumed their journey to Tsuna's house where the signal first appeared.

* * *

><p>They arrived at Tsuna's house and looked around, investigating the surroundings. They all turned to Tsuna as a message came over the communication device, "Juudaime, the signal disappeared."<p>

They all recognized the voice of Giannini on the other end.

"I guess that means for now we can go back to the base and eat dinner!" Tsuna said happily, the others nodding.

They began to slowly walk down the streets and back to the Vongola Base. They were almost there when Ed stopped.

"Edward-sensei?" Tsuna asked, turning to face him, "What's wrong?"

"You guys go ahead," Ed said whilst walking in a different direction, "I'll just be out here for a little bit longer. I'm not to hungry anyway."

The others nodded, some reluctantly, but eventually went back on their way. Ed continued on his own path, walking down the winding trail through the woods he had just entered.

He sighed contentedly as he saw the sun reflecting off of a gentle river. Ed sat down on the bank, taking off his shoes and rolling up his pant legs so he could dip his feet into the water. He had gotten an insulating material for his automail that would keep the water out. He couldn't swim yet, but hopefully with more research, he could develop a light enough model for that purpose.

Ed smiled softly, relishing in the pleasure as the cool water lazily flowed past him. Ed looked to his side and saw a few pebbles. Without a second thought, he grabbed a few and looked back at the river. He flicked his wrist and sent a stone skidding over the waters edge, only for a while though.

"Not good enough," Ed muttered as he lifted up another stone. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on the water flow and flicked his wrist once more, sending the stone bouncing across the river for about half way.

Ed leaned back, hearing the faint crunch of the grass, and watched as the clouds floated lazily by, blocking some of the sun's rays causing a variety of light to be cast upon the land below.

Ed didn't know how long he had been there for, but he was alerted out of his utopia when a twig snapped. He shot up quickly and whirled around, seeing none other than Tsuna and some of his guardians.

"Oh, it's just you. What are you guys doing here?" Ed asked, returning to his prior position and dipping his feet into the water once more.

"Another ring signal appeared and it was around this area. Since you're here, did you see anything?" Tsuna explained.

"Ah, I'm afraid I didn't," Ed replied, "They might have been here, it could've been when I was concentrating or deep in thought. Whenever that happens, I forget the world around me."

"Oh, well, you should probably be getting back to the base now," Tsuna said, "Kyoko and Haru kept a plate prepared for you."

Ed smiled and lifted his feet out of the water, slowly standing up, "I'll just head back with you guys then."

A rustling sound was heard and Yamamoto quickly unsheathed his blade, slashing at the tree behind him. Everyone watched as a person slowly began to fall, unable to find a landing spot now that the tree was gone. The person was on a direct collision course with Tsuna. Ed winced slightly as the two basically head-butted each other, both crashing to the ground afterwords.

"B-Basil-kun?" Tsuna said in shock after he got a good look at the person's face.

"Ah, Sawada-dono!" Basil smiled, "Does this mean I'm finally at Vongola Base? Yes!"

Ed watched as the others conversed, picking up his shoes and slipping them on after he rolled down his pant legs once more.

Silently, he headed back to the base, hearing the others trailing slowly behind him.

* * *

><p>Ed walked through the halls of the base. He had already eaten dinner and the others were just conversing now that he decided he would go back to his room and go to sleep a little bit earlier than usual.<p>

He walked through the door and lied down on his bed, absentmindedly pulling out his travel-log out of a hidden pocket in the hoodie he was wearing.

He flipped the leather book to a random page and smiled slightly in nostalgia as memories flooded back to him, painting a serene picture in his head.

Ed flipped through the warn out pages, seeing just how much he had written in it. He frowned slightly as he realized he only had a couple pages left. He was still amazed though, over 400 years and his old journal was still going strong. Ed sighed again, he still couldn't believe how he lied about his age... at least it would make it seem a little bit more normal. He questioned why they still didn't figure it out considering how Giotto lived at least 400 years ago.

Ed looked up as he heard the door to the room open. In the doorway, he saw Tsuna, Haru, and Kyoko standing there.

"Hm, what do you need?" Ed asked, quickly putting away the book.

"Well, Reborn and the others are letting us have a day on the surface and almost everyone is coming with us and we were wondering if you would join us as well," Kyoko said.

"I'd be happy too," Edward said, "I love spending time out in the fresh air. There's nothing quite like it."

A blissful smile appeared on Ed's face.

They said good-bye and smiled at Ed before quietly leaving.

"You guys are lucky," Haru said, "You get a cool teacher while I get stuck with all the strict ones."

"I guess we are lucky," Kyoko said, "He is one of the nicest teachers I've had."

"Yeah," Tsuna said, "He was the only teacher that stood up for me when everybody else was laughing."

"I remember that!" Kyoko said, "On his first day and he didn't even know you that well."

"He's my favorite teacher," Tsuna said, "You should here the stories he tells, too! He makes them sound like they really happened."

"Oh, did he tell you a story once, Tsuna-san?" Haru asked.

"Yeah, Yamamoto and I had...tutoring with him and he told us about it," Tsuna replied.

"What were the stories about?" Kyoko asked.

"He always talked about two siblings, a suit of armor and a young military officer, going on these journeys to correct a mistake they had made," Tsuna said, "I feel like he never runs out of stories."

"Interesting, I'll have to ask him about it then," Haru said, "We all can!"

The other two nodded at the cheerful girl. They continued on their way through the base to return to the rest of their group.

* * *

><p>Ed awoke the next day earlier than usual, his travel-log opened up and in his hand. He must of fallen asleep while reading it.<p>

Sighing softly, he got out of bed. Lazily, he pulled out a black pair of jeans along with his usual combat boots. He put on a random t-shirt then pulled on his red hoodie with the white and gold accents. He looked in the mirror looking at his long hair that wasn't currently in his usual ponytail (He didn't do a braid as often anymore). He walked over and grabbed a rubber band before walking out of his room.

He walked down the halls, holding the rubber band in his mouth and lazily putting his hair into a braid. He decided against the ponytail and went with his trademark braid for old time's sake. As he walked into the kitchen, he was finishing up with tying the loose ends of the braid up. Eventually satisfied, he walked over to the stove. He looked up at the clock and realized he had gotten up a lot earlier than most people in the base do.

Without a word, he walked over to the fridge where they held the ingredients and pulled out the ones he would need. Placing the materials on the counter, he grabbed a plain white apron and threw it on. Turning back to the ingredients, he grabbed the pans he would need and turned on the stove to the appropriate temperature. He smiled to himself. Time to get cracking.

* * *

><p>Tsuna and his guardians (Excluding Lambo and Chrome) walked down the hallways of the base, sniffing the air slightly.<p>

"What smells good?" Yamamoto wondered aloud.

"Maybe Kyoko-chan and Haru already got started," Tsuna replied, mouth slightly watering at the scent that was growing stronger.

"Probably because the stupid cow was bothering them," Gokudera muttered darkly.

Their theories were disproved, however when they saw Kyoko, Haru, Lambo, and I-pin walking down the hallway, heading for the kitchen as well. Not to far behind them was who appeared to be Reborn, Giannini, Bianchi and Fuuta.

"Whose cooking?" Haru asked aloud, "Kyoko-chan and I just woke up."

Everyone looked at each other in wonder and looked at the door suspiciously, wondering who could be cooking. (They were too tired to realize that the only people missing were Chrome, Ed, and Basil) Their suspicions heightened when they heard someone humming from the other side of the door.

The group looked at each other once before stepping forward, the door opening automatically. Inside by the stove, they saw the person they never expected would be a cook. Edward Elric.

"Edward-sensei?" Tsuna asked disbelievingly.

Ed turned around, ceasing his cooking for the moment, "Ah, Tsunayoshi-kun, everyone, you're finally awake."

Ed smiled and turned back to his cooking. The groups eyes fell upon the table, an array of delicious looking food on the table.

"Wait," Giannini said, "We didn't have some of this meat and fish in storage. Where did you get it?"

"Well, since it was so early, I was able to go outside and I caught some of the stuff," Edward said, shrugging slightly as if it wasn't that big of a deal.

"Haven't you ever heard of a store?" Gokudera asked.

"It would've been a waste of money," Edward responded, placing the contents of the pan into a bowl, "Why buy what you can get yourself."

"Where did you learn to catch things or cook even?"

"Oh, when I was little, my teacher, to toughen my brother and I up and help us understand basic principles, dropped us off on an island with nothing but a knife and left us there for a month to fend for ourselves. We had to learn to catch things to survive," Ed replied.

Tsuna sweat dropped, briefly thinking of a certain spartan baby tutor.

"And to respond to your second question, when my parents died along with my brother, I was left on my own so you pick things up. I had a bit of money saved up so it wasn't that big of a deal. Not to mention I was a child prodigy so I got a bunch of scholarships. I had to learn how to cook to survive," Ed said, placing the last plate of food onto the table, "Eat up!"

"Edward-san," Haru said, "You didn't have to cook. Kyoko-chan and I can handle that stuff."

"I just thought I'd do it today considering you guys get to go to the surface," Ed smiled once more.

Ed watched with a contented look as they completely devoured the morsels of food. Ed looked over and saw three bento boxes he had made: one for Chrome, one for Basil, and a fairly large one for Shouichi and Spanner.

Ed picked up Basil's and Chrome's and quietly left the room to give it to them.

* * *

><p>Ed knocked on the door to Basil's room softly. Hearing a muffled 'enter', Edward walked inside slowly. Basil would wake up and fall asleep every so often.<p>

Ed walked over to Basil and set the Bento down by his bed, "Here you go, Basil-san," Edward said, "Eat it whenever you like."

Basil looked up and muttered a thank you before his head crashed down to the pillow once more, falling asleep almost instantaneously.

Ed smiled softly and quietly left the room.

* * *

><p>Edward knocked on Chrome's door softly, "Chrome, you in there?"<p>

"Who is it?" A feminine voice sounded through the wood.

"It's me, Edward," He responded.

The door slowly slid open and there stood Chrome, looking at him blankly.

Edward and Chrome had developed an interesting relationship. Ed had noticed that if the other's gave her food, she wouldn't eat it, but if he gave it to her, she'd at least eat some of it. He also found Chrome talking to him easier than others. It felt like he had a little sister. He smiled at the girl before holding up a bento box wrapped in Indigo cloth.

"Chrome, I made you a bento," Ed smiled, "You don't have to eat it right away, but at least try to eat some of it. Trust me, I'm a doctor."

Chrome nodded (she knew about Ed being immortal after Reborn explained it to her), and silently took the bento before she closed the door once more.

Ed sighed, running a hand through his golden hair. He really felt like a babysitter sometimes.

* * *

><p>Edward walked back into the kitchen to retrieve the last bento. He saw everyone that was leaving for the town that day standing around in the kitchen.<p>

"Hey, how about we go ahead and leave now and I can deliver the bento along the way," Ed suggested, earning enthusiastic nodding from Haru and Kyoko.

Ed picked up the bento and walked through the halls with the group, smiling softly.

* * *

><p>Edward walked into the ruined lab, watching as the two typed away on the computers, occasionally writing things down on multiple pieces of paper.<p>

Ed walked over to the duo and gently placed the bento on the ground. After he told them hello and got all the formalities out of the way, he slowly left the lab to leave the two to their devices.

* * *

><p>Ed walked down the streets by himself, looking at the multiple shops. A few hours had passed since they came to the surface. He whirled around when he heard the concerned voices of the guardians. He listened closer to hear Gokudera yelling 'Juudaime!'<p>

Ed slowly walked up to them and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Well, we got split up for a while and when we finally found each other, Tsuna-san was missing!" Haru explained worriedly.

"We don't know where he is," Kyoko said, "I'm worried."

Ed nodded and went over to a vending machine and bought two drinks, "I might know where he is... but, I'll go by myself and I won't take no for an answer."

Gokudera opened his mouth in protest, but surprisingly, shut it when he saw the expression the alchemist wore on his face. Sighing in defeat the small group nodded their heads before leaving.

Ed walked down a small street that led to an area around the forest. Ed slowly walked into the forest, taking a small deer trail to a place he had discovered when he moved to Namimori. Happy it was still there, Ed found his destination. After a few minutes of walking, Ed soon saw the small spring and river he had found in one of the larger forest clearings.

Ed smiled when he faintly saw the silhouette of Tsuna sitting by the water. Ed walked forward, grunting slightly as he plopped down beside Tsuna, "Found you. Everyone was worried you know."

"Eh! How did you find me?" Tsuna asked.

"Whenever my little brother was troubled, he'd always go and sit by the river that ran through the small village we grew up in. I also had to run after Giotto a lot when he disappeared randomly from time to time," Edward asked, "I just thought you were like them so I decided to give it a shot."

Ed lifted up one of the drinks he had bought earlier and held it in front of Tsuna's face, "Here."

Tsuna slowly took the beverage from Ed's hands, opening the lid with Ed doing the same to the one he had bought for himself, "Care to tell me what's wrong?"

Tsuna looked away, "It's stupid..."

Edward sighed, "Hmmm, you know what? I'll tell you something about me in exchange for what's bugging you. Equivalent exchange!"

Tsuna quirked an eyebrow at the term 'equivalent exchange', "...Fine..."

Edward looked at Tsuna again, "I lied about my age."

"What?" Tsuna said, "You aren't immortal?"

"I never said that," Edward said, "I apologize for it, but I'm really not 128 years old. I like to keep my actual age a secret. In all honesty, I'm 428 years old."

Tsuna spat out the drink in his mouth, "W-what? F-f-f-f-four h-h-hundred twenty e-e-eight y-ye-years old!"

Ed rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "I'm surprise you didn't know that considering Giotto was alive around 400 years ago."

Tsuna mentally slapped himself. They just readily accepted Ed's age without even thinking about the practicality.

"So, what's itching at you?" Ed asked.

"I'm...scared, worried..." Tsuna said.

"You're worried you're going to fail," Ed finished for him, "You're terrified that you might not be able to get everyone home."

Tsuna gaped at Edward, "How did you know?"

"I've gone through a similar situation," Edward replied, "I thought I had failed him, my brother... and everyone as well, I felt like I was being smothered."

Tsuna continued to stare at the seemingly young-looking boy beside him.

"I made it through though, because of my brother. I remember him getting frustrated and telling me we would live on together through everything because if we just threw our lives away and called it quits, we wouldn't gain anything in the end."

"Thanks," Tsuna said, "You made me feel better."

"Yeah, because as long as you have your friends, you don't have to worry because they'll make sure you don't give up."

Ed and Tsuna got up, "You, Haru, and Bianchi already visited Haru's house, right?" Ed asked.

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Do you want to go anywhere before we have to go back to the base?" Ed asked.

"I do have one place," Tsuna replied.

* * *

><p>Ed and Tsuna walked through the streets of town, a smile appearing on Tsuna's face as he began to see the roof of Namimori.<p>

They approached the school and Tsuna's face lit up even more when he saw who was also approaching the school gates. Tsuna ran forward to meet his friends.

"Tsuna!"

"Juudaime!"

"We were so worried!" Kyoko said.

"Where were you?" Haru asked.

"Ummm, I was..."

"He was just catching some fresh air," Edward said, placing an elbow onto Tsuna's head and leaning against the boy, "I found him out for a walk, as I thought he would be. Everyone likes silence."

Edward smiled at Tsuna, helping to cover up the fact about how the boy was worried from his friends.

"Oh, ok," Haru said.

"I guess we all felt like coming here, huh?" Tsuna asked.

Everyone nodded, "Well? Let's go inside!"

Bianchi and Edward walked slower following behind the group of teens (And babies).

"You sure haven't changed that much," Bianchi said.

"Hmmm?" Edward looked at the woman beside him, "Oh yeah! I almost forgot... I must look pretty similar, huh?"

"You sure do, but I was talking about how you deal with Tsuna," Bianchi said, "Even now, in the future, you were always the one to find him. A feat that not even some of Tsuna's closest friends could pull off."

"I have a little bit of experience with people like him," Edward said, "After all, I was Giotto's bodyguard. I dealt with things like this a lot if he ever got troubled."

Bianchi smiled slightly and the two continued to watch the smiling group in front of them.

* * *

><p>"I'll be the teacher!" Haru said, standing behind the podium.<p>

"I'll be the home ec. teacher," Bianchi stated.

"And I'll be the EXTREME upperclassman!" Ryohei yelled.

Ed leaned against the wall, watching them with a small smirk on his face.

Yamamoto leaned his head onto his desk, propping the book in front of him, "If I was at this angle, the teachers would never notice me sleeping!"

"I don't use cheap tricks, I just go ahead and sleep," Gokudera said, leaning back in his chair.

"Should you really be having this conversation while your teacher is in the room with you?" Ed finally spoke up, "And Yamamoto-kun! I always knew you were sleeping, I just let it slide. I did the same thing when I was your age!"

Yamamoto laughed, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

Ed sighed and smiled at his students, "Well, while we're here, why don't we catch up on your lessons?"

Ed began to laugh evilly and everyone in the room sweat dropped.

Ed walked over and picked up a piece of chalk. With one last evil smirk, Ed's arm sped across the chalk board, a cloud of chalk dust blocking their view. After the dust cleared and everyone had stopped coughing, they looked up to see a complex equation written.

"Pop quiz for _all_ of you," Edward said, pointing at Haru and Ryohei as well, "Solve it!"

"Hieeee! What does that even mean!" Tsuna shrieked, "What am I supposed to do? Add? Multiply? Divide? Subtract? Something to the something power?"

"I don't know," Yamamoto said laughing.

"Hey, Octopus head!" Ryohei said, "Aren't you supposed to be some genius?"

"Well..." Gokudera drifted off, "Given where the decimal and exponent are located..."

"He's stalling!" Haru said, "He doesn't know the answer!"

"Shut up woman!" Gokudera yelled, "Don't you go to that prestigious school for smart people? Let's see you solve it!"

"Hahi!" Haru said, "Haru doesn't know how to solve it!"

Ed looked at Kyoko who shrugged and smiled sweetly. Ed smirked slightly, "You all..."

Everyone backed away.

"Pass!"

Cue collective yelling, "What!"

"You heard me!" Ed responded, "You all got so intimidated by the problem and didn't fully check it out enough to notice I was standing in front of the last part."

Ed stepped to the side, revealing the last few symbols, "This tells you to divide by zero, which isn't possible, hence making it an unsolvable problem, so you pass! If I removed that portion, you would've gotten it wrong."

Everyone sweat dropped, "You stressed us out for nothing!"

Ed smiled at them, "Well, let's head back!"

"Can we go to the roof first?" Tsuna asked.

"Why not, we have time," Bianchi said, earning a nod from Edward.

The group went and spent time on the roof. Ed looked at the setting sun, 'Guess I'll have to tell them now...'

* * *

><p>Ed woke up early again the next morning and got dressed in a black t-shirt with dull grey pants on. Slipping on his usual combat boots he looked around for the auto-mail cover. He couldn't freak out the girls could he? When he found the needed item and fastened it to his automail, he headed out the door.<p>

Ed walked through the halls sighing slightly to himself. He walked into the kitchen and saw Haru and Kyoko already preparing breakfast. He walked up to the girls and stood beside them.

"You need any help?"

"Oh, Edward-sensei!" Kyoko said, "You don't need to help you're so busy anyway."

"Don't worry, it's no big deal!" Ed said, "I'll help if you need me too! I insist."

"You can help prepare the rice balls if you want to," Haru smiled.

Ed grinned at her and walked over to the extra space on the counter where the prepared rice was. He slowly began to make the rice balls.

"Edward-sensei," Kyoko said, "You usually wear your hair in a ponytail, but lately you've been putting it in a braid. I'm not used to seeing your hair like that."

"I've been meaning to ask you Ed-san," Haru said, "I've been wondering where you're from. Your hair and eye color definitely isn't Japanese."

"I'm from Germany," Ed told her, "And before you ask, I don't have a heavy accent because I learned many languages."

Haru nodded and went back to her cooking.

* * *

><p>About a half hour later, the others finally walked into the kitchen.<p>

"Elric?" Gokudera asked, "You're cooking again?"

"Haru and Kyoko are doing most of it," Edward said, placing the last plate onto the table, "I just made a few things."

"Well, anyway," Kyoko said, "Eat up!"

* * *

><p>Kyoko and Haru watched everyone leave. They slowly began to pick up the plates and putting them in the sink, Lambo and I-pin.<p>

Out in the hall, Reborn and the rest of the group stood in front of Edward, "Ed, Tsuna told me about your age... your real name."

Edward sighed, "I guess I'll have to explain. Let's go to the meeting room."

Everyone nodded and walked through the halls. They soon reached the meeting room and after everyone settled down, Edward began.

"I originally told you my age was 128. While that is a lie, in a way, it is partially true. The time I wasn't immortal was the time was before Hitler's rise in power when the socialist worker's party, the nazis, were still scheming. After a series of... events** (A/N: He's talking about what happened in FMA: Conqueror of Shamballa)** my brother and I soon discovered a dangerous weapon making it's way into the Nazi's possession. We both traveled trying to locate said weapon, the Uranium bomb."

Eyes widened in the room, "Hieee! U-U-Ur-Uranium B-bomb!"

Ed nodded before continuing, "Well, we eventually found the man who recovered it after about four our five years. My younger brother by then looked the same age as me as I already became immortal. The guy we found was mentally unstable in my opinion. In charge of torturing prisoners of war by making them mine uranium to create another uranium bomb. It was my fault that the first uranium bomb is even here, but that is a story for another time. We found children there, being used for that sick purpose."

Even though it was in the past, the people in the room couldn't help but to be filled with rage at what they had just heard.

"Well, me being the naturally brash person I used to be, got angry and charged right up to the bastard and attacked. The guy threatened to use the bomb. He didn't have it on him at the moment so I kept fighting him. That's when things went wrong. The area they were holding went berserk, or at least the mined uranium did. It created a giant shockwave that most likely killed most of the people there, I don't know for sure."

"Why don't you know for sure?" Yamamoto asked, "Weren't you there?"

"Yes, but I tried something I hadn't done in a while, and for some reason it worked even though it shouldn't have. Instead of doing what I thought it would, it somehow sent my brother and I back in time. 300 years back in time in fact. The time where Giotto was alive and had just gotten around to forming the vigilante group Vongola. The Vongola was not involved with the mafia yet.

"I eventually told Giotto and his guardians about what had happened to us about my immortality. After that, I joined with him as his bodyguard after I protected him multiple times. My brother and I stayed in touch, but he settled down and got married, even had a family after I convinced him to do such and not get involved with the mafia."

"...wow..." Tsuna broke the silence.

* * *

><p><strong>LunarFallenStar: Hey guys! Done with this unusually long chapter! I hoped you enjoyed it! R&amp;R, stay tuned!<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**LunarFallenStar: Hey guys! New chapter! I'm so tired 'cause there's a banquet at my school and since my mom and one of my friend's mom is in charge, so basically my friend and I are the students in charge of all of the student volunteers. We do a lot of the hard work and I'm working at school during my study halls and some of my electives and also after school gets out until dinnertime then right back to working. But it's still fun though. Just yesterday, I peeled 200 lbs. of carrots, cleaned up the milkshake machine, scooped cocktail sauce into serving cups, scooped butter, washed dishes, made shishkabobs(?), cut cantelope, cut pineapple, swept the floor, washed strawberries, chopped some greens, cut up strawberries, chopped onions, set and decorated the tables, cut roses, helped with electricity, and finally polished the silverware... all of it... Don't even get me started on today. And now, I'm SO tired. Well, anyhow, I loved reading your guys reviews!**

**SunshineAndMoonlight: I agree with you, 'wow' is right :)**

**Phantom Hitman 1412: I'm glad you like what I write! And you're right about Byakuran, he knows like everything with his dimension hopping. And with the sequel with Primo thing, I've actually been considering it. I would finish this story first, but I like the idea. Ed is a cool teacher, I would love having him as a teacher. I've always liked the image of Ed cooking, so I just put it in the story. And, yes, Equivalent Exchange *fangirl squeal as well*. And with your theory about the unsolvable problem, it's your second guess. I honestly am surprised you got that :) Yep, Ed always has to be doing something! He'll tell them he's from a different world eventually. It'll probably be around one of the time's they get close to Byakuran in choice in everything else. I'm glad you like Ed's back story and read on!**

**Traffic9991: I'm glad you're waiting for my updates so here's the next chapter!**

**archsage328: Yeah, the arcobaleno trials was the only time Shamal was really given any screen time. And I love Ed's temper tantrums as well. Yep, that's how Ed got sent back to when Vongola was founded and he probably met the Shimon family. And incorporating the brotherhood cast is a good idea. I might do something like that. Oh and don't worry about your tangent, I do it quite often. And it is interesting to see how to incorporate Ed into the Reborn universe opens up all different paths.**

**Fall into the Void: Thanks for the review and I'm glad you love it!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~Previously~<strong>_

_**"...wow..." Tsuna broke the silence.**_

* * *

><p>Ed leaned back in his chair, looking at all the surprised faces. He rubbed the bridge of his nose. If they were reacting like this when they found out about the time traveling, what happened, and his real age, he couldn't imagine what there faces would be like if they found out he was from a different world. He chuckled slightly, causing everybody to raise an eyebrow.<p>

"What's so funny?" Reborn asked.

"Oh, nothing, nothing," Ed said, waving his hand in a dismissive manner, "Don't worry about it."

"Well, since we're here, we might as well go ahead and sort out our plan," Reborn said.

Giannini nodded and held up a remote, aiming at the large screen before clicking a button. On cue, the face of Spanner appeared on the screen.

"Considering the size of the playing field, we'll need a transportation system that can get them to the area they need to be swiftly and effectively," Reborn said, "The battle of the mechanics has come."

Ed watched as Giannini glared at Spanner and vice versa. Sweat dropping at the sparks which appeared, he looked over at Tsuna and saw his pupil freaking out about how Spanner and Giannini were fighting. Ed sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

* * *

><p>The next day, Edward was in the kitchen with the girls, helping and teaching them a new recipe.<p>

"Wow, Edward-sensei," Kyoko said, "You're good at cooking!"

"Well, I've had a lot of practice," Edward said, "I've actually lived on my own for a while."

"Hahi!" Haru said, "You can't be older than 18 or 19 even! How could you possibly have been living alone for a while?"

"Well, when I was little, I was called a 'child prodigy' and went to college at a young age. My brother was intelligent as well, but I was the one considered the prodigy," Edward said, modifying the story a bit, "My mom died when I was young and my dad left my brother and I. A few years after my mom died, I made a mistake that hurt my brother horribly. Al, my brother, and my father Hohenheim both died recently...because of me..."

The two girls gasped, "What?"

Edward smiled at them, "I'm fine now though. I know I'll see them again."

Haru got teary-eyed, "What a touching story and what faith in how you'll see them again, truly beautiful!"

Edward stared at her in disbelief. Another Armstrong look a like. One (i.e: Ryohei) was enough, but now two? Ed chuckled, "Yeah, yeah. Get back to chopping."

The girls nodded enthusiastically and continued chopping. Ed looked over when he heard a hiss of pain coming from Haru.

"You alright?" Edward asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I positioned my hands wrong and the blade nicked it," Haru replied, "It's no big deal though."

Ed pointed to the chair, "Sit down," he went over to the sink and grabbed a rag, running said rag under some water before going back to where Haru was seated.

He sat down on his knees and took the hand with the cut, looking at it closely, "Hmmm, you nicked it pretty well. This looks like a vein, but you got a little to close to an artery. I'll need to heal it up for you that way you don't accidentally hit the artery."

Ed held up the rag and wiped away some of the blood that ran along the long cut on her knuckles. He soon got a clear view of the gash. He stood up once more and went over to his long coat (which he still carried with him) and reached into an inside pocket, pulling out a small case.

"What's that?" Kyoko asked.

"A first aid kit," Ed replied, sitting down again in front of Haru, opening up the small case. He looked at the contents for a while before pulling out some bandages and a small vile of something. Unscrewing the small, flat bottle's lid, he took the small baster (which was the lid) and sucked up some of the contents into the tube. Taking Haru's hand once more, he located the cut easily.

"This may sting a little," Ed said before spreading the mysterious substance over the gash earning a hiss of pain from Haru.

Haru closed her eyes, but opened them when she heard Kyoko gasp in surprise. She followed Kyoko's trail of sight and saw her once cut hand now healed.

"What?"

Ed pulled out the bandage and began wrapping her hand, "My brother was interested in herbs and created a solution that can quickly heal something," He left out the part where Alphonse had figured out how to mix sun flames into the solution somehow. Alphonse may not have been directly affiliated with the mafia, but that didn't mean he wouldn't help his brother.

Ed stood up and Haru was still gaping at her now bandaged hand, "Let's get back to cooking."

She nodded and stood up, returning to her cooking station. Ed put the bandage and the vile back into the case which he put back into his coat. He placed the rag back in the sink and returned to cooking.

* * *

><p>Ed followed Tsuna and the others down into one of the larger training rooms and looked at the two mechanics who would be showing there inventions. Ed absentmindedly leaned against the wall and listened from afar to the inventors.<p>

He watched in amusement as every invention failed.

He gained interest however when Giannini lead the group out of the room. He followed along and they soon reached a room which Giannini disappeared saying about it being the boss's collection. Ed looked as Giannini came back out with a tape-measurer, kneeling down in front of Tsuna before measuring Tsuna's leg.

"As I thought, you're legs are short."

Ed looked over at a blushing Tsuna and patted Tsuna's shoulder, "You'll get used to it eventually," Ed said.

Tsuna looked at Ed incredulously, 'is that supposed to make me feel better?'

They all walked into the room and saw Giannini riding what appeared to be a motorcycle with no wheels.

"What's that?" Ed asked.

"An air-bike," Giannini said, "It's powered by high-energy deathperation flames. The covers of it work as mammon chains so it doesn't get picked up by the enemy's radar. The flames power the thrusters which release air and let the bike hover and move around in midair."

Ed nodded.

"This will help Dame-Tsuna," Reborn said, "A way to get around without the enemy noticing. Clever."

"Clever indeed," Ed agreed.

* * *

><p>Ed sighed as he watched his pupils. Gokudera got it relatively easily as did Basil who was helping them train. Yamamoto got the gist of it, but still had difficulties. Ryohei couldn't turn. Finally, Tsuna was being, well, Tsuna.<p>

Ed walked over as Tsuna fell off once more, helping the young boy up, "Don't rush too much or you'll make careless mistakes. It's better to go slow and follow the flow of it than going way to fast and messing it up. Clear your mind and think about it. You'll get it eventually."

Tsuna nodded and got back up on the bike.

Ed watched a little longer before silently leaving.

* * *

><p>Back in his room, Ed opened his travelogue once more. Picking up a pencil, Ed began to write down another entry. He had been writing for a few minutes before his door slid open and in walked Reborn.<p>

"Wouldn't you normally want to watch Dame-Tsuna," Reborn said, "You don't seem like the kind of person to just leave him there."

Ed looked back down and kept writing, "I've said all I can, there's nothing I can do for him now. He needs to learn how to overcome a trial without someone holding his hand."

Reborn nodded and hopped onto the desk, looking at the book. Ed wasn't worried since he had coded all of what he was writing. He coded it so well, even Alphonse couldn't decode it.

All Reborn saw in the notebook what appeared to be a travelogue.

"What's this?" Reborn asked with mild interest.

"Oh, it's my research notes from over the years..." Ed replied, "I coded them that way people couldn't read what was written. Not even my brother, who was probably one of the people closest to me, was able to decode it."

Reborn hummed in response, "I'll take it you'll won't be watching much of the training?"

"Correct. By the way Reborn, is there an empty training room I could use?"

"I'll ask Giannini or Fuuta," Reborn responded, "Don't you need a way to get around without being detected?"

"I already figured out that since my flames are different, machines can't really sense them at all. Giannini couldn't pick up my flame signature."

Reborn nodded before leaving.

Ed turned back to his notes. He leaned back in his chair and reached down to one of the drawers and pulled it open, grabbing a book from it. He opened the leather book and read its contents. On the cover, one could tell it was a book on box weapons.

He read about how they were created and how they were made. A small smirk crept onto his face. Silently, he left his room.

* * *

><p>Giannini walked into the lab and was surprised to see none other than Edward Elric over one of the tables.<p>

"E-E-Elric-san?"

Ed looked up, "Oh Giannini-san, I didn't notice you there."

"What are you doing in here?"

"Oh, I'm just working on something. Can't fall behind," Edward said, "Oh did Reborn ask you about a spare training room yet?"

"Oh, he did," Giannini said, "There's one available. I'll just leave the map over here."

"Oh, thank you Giannini-san," Edward said before looking back down at his work.

"I'll be leaving then, I wouldn't want to disturb you."

With that, Giannini left.

Ed looked at the small object on the table in front of him with a smirk on his face. Almost there, he was almost done. His smirk widened before he continued to work on the small object.

* * *

><p>Ed walked down the halls heading to the training room he was going to use. He turned around when he heard someone calling his name.<p>

"Edward-sensei!" Tsuna yelled running up to the blond male.

"Tsunayoshi-kun?"

"I was able to ride it, the air bike!" Tsuna said proudly, "I still have to practice though..."

Ed patted Tsuna's head, "Good job!"

Tsuna smiled, "Reborn just called us to a meeting. Are you going to come?"

"Why not?" Edward replied. He could always go to the training room later.

They walked down the hall and reached the meeting room. The door slid open and they walked in, seeing their other friends seated in the room as well. Tsuna and Ed walked over to their seats and sat down, waiting for Reborn to speak.

"Now that everyone more or less has the idea of how to ride the air bikes," Reborn said, "We will move onto the second stage."

"Second stage?" Tsuna asked.

"You mean!" Gokudera began excitedly.

Reborn smirked, pulling out the Vongola boxes and placing them on the table, "Time to open these up."

Everyone became relatively excited to see what kind of animal would be inside, "But, not today. You will all continue to rest up today."

"What?" Gokudera asked, "Why can't we open them today?"

"You all need to rest more," Edward said, "If you have more energy saved up, that means you can train with them longer."

"That and preparations need to be made," Reborn added, "You are dismissed."

"Wow that was quick," Ed muttered leaving the room to head to the training room he was using.

* * *

><p>Edward stood in the middle of the training room, wearing a loose black tank-top leaving his automail arm exposed. He also was wearing a baggy pair of jeans, shoes and socks discarded leaving his automail leg exposed as well. His braid was coming undone and most of his hair was already hanging loose, the rest barely forming a braid.<p>

In front of him and all around him as well, was a bunch of different alchemic creations he had made using his flames. Breathing heavily, he created more obstacles and continued to practice flipping over them again and again. He also practiced destroying them as well.

After a few minutes, he walked over to his discarded jacket reaching inside it, quickly finding the secret pocket. Pulling out his research notes, he sat on the ground. He opened the book to the inside cover. Pealing back some of the thick leather, he pulled out a small ring. Smirking lightly, he put the ring on his left, flesh hand.

He smiled softly as he looked at the ring, the memories flowing back to him. Giotto had given him this ring when he had officially become his guard. It was the only ring that used his flame attribute. It was like a Vongola ring in a way, just not part of the trinesette.

Ed reached into his pocket and pulled out two grey boxes. He had worked on them all day. After he read the research notes of Verde, which were a pain to decode, he figured out how to create them relatively easily. If a normal person had read the book on box weapons, they would've thought it was just the basic information, but Ed wasn't a normal person. He was a genius.

Closing his eyes, Ed lit up the flame on his ring and injected the flames into the boxes. Opening his eyes once more, Ed saw a burst of flames shoot out of the boxes and onto the floor in front of him. As the light faded, in its place stood a large suit of armor and a small panda. He smirked lightly, his theory worked. He was able to create box weapons for his attribute.

Ed felt nostalgia tugging at his senses as he looked at the suit of armor. Even after 400 years, he still remembered exactly how Al's suit of armor looked like. He looked at the small panda before him as well, dwarfed even more compared to the giant suit of armor beside it. The panda was very puny **(A/N: She looks like Xiao Mei from Brotherhood)** and actually quite adorable.

Ed thought to himself for a while, but eventually decided on a name, "I'll call you Xiao Mei."

The suit of armor, the deathperation flames on the spikes of the armor as well as in the eyes. The panda had deathperation flames on its paws.

Ed looked at the panda once more, "By the way I made you, if I do this," Ed said to himself as he launched some of his flames at the panda, "You should..."

Ed trailed off as he watched a vizor cover the top of the panda's head, flames streamlining the edges of its small body. Ed smirked at the panda and the armor. With the armor, he just had to inject some of his flames into it and it could operate like an ally.

Ed looked as the small panda hopped onto his shoulder. He looked back to the suit of armor, "Time to train."

He charged the suit of armor and flipped over its head, slamming his foot into its back as he descended onto the floor. The armor flipped in the air and landed on its feet, now facing the blond.

"Xiao Mei!" Ed yelled. The small panda nodded, jumping into the sky, using the flames to keep it afloat. When she was directly above the suit of armor, her mouth opened and out shot a highly concentrated blast of flames.

The armor collapsed to the ground when the energy hit it, but it stood up once more.

It charged forward, grabbing Ed's fist when he threw a punch. It kicked Ed's feet out from under him, sending the blond into a spiral.

As Ed flew in the air, the suit of armor brought down its fists, slamming it down into Ed's stomach. Ed flew into the ground, grabbing onto its fists. With a grunt, Ed used the armor's arms to flip it, using the momentum to stand up.

Ed was about to charge once more, but halted when a huge explosion shook the room. Edward sent the two box weapons back into their boxes and quickly ran out of the training room, heading for the source of the explosion, completely forgetting about his shoes, socks and jacket. Heck, he even forgot to put his hair back in a braid.

He soon reached Tsuna's room much to his surprise and saw the others along with Basil standing outside it as well. He saw their gaping faces and ran up to them. Following their line of sight, he saw Tsuna held in the air by a giant monster of sky flames.

"What's that?" Ed asked.

The others turned around, their eyes widening even more, "That Tsuna's box weapon, but Ed-sensei," Yamamoto said.

"But what?"

"What's up with your hair, Elric?" Gokudera responded.

Ed blinked a few times before lifting his hand up to touch his hair, now fully realizing that it wasn't in a braid any longer, "Oh, I guess I forgot to put it back into a braid..."

"I see you also forgot to put on your jacket and shoes," Gokudera said, "What if Kyoko and Haru walked by?"

Ed blinked again and looked down, seeing once more seeing he was wearing only a tank-top and no shoes or socks, leaving his automail fully exposed, "Shit!"

Basil gaped at him, "Y-y-your arm and leg is gone?"

Edward stared at the boy before mentally face-palming himself. He forgot Basil hadn't known about his arm and leg being gone.

"Yep, I thought it wouldn't be too much of a surprise considering I'm immortal..."

They all returned their attention to Tsuna, "We need to calm it down."

Basil nodded before calling on his box weapon, Alfin.

Ed watched as the box weapon attempted to calm down the raging torrent of fury that was Tsuna's box weapon. Edward smirked when Yamamoto helped Basil by releasing his sparrow.

Soon, the box weapon calmed and returned back to its box. The group ran forward to Tsuna who was slumped against the wall, soaking wet because of the rain flames.

"Juudaime!" Gokudera yelled, "What happened?"

"I thought I just injected flames, but that happened instead," Tsuna replied.

"I bet Irie gave you a messed up box!" Gokudera yelled, "I'm gonna go string up that glasses freak!"

"Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna yelled, "It wasn't Irie-san's fault!"

"You're right," A voice said, "It was Tsuna's fault."

They all turned around, "Dino-san!"

In through the gaping hole in the wall rode Dino Cavallone on a horse.

"What are you doing here?" Tsuna asked.

"I'm just wondering how nobody is surprised about the freaking horse he's riding on..." Ed muttered.

"You opened your box wrong," Dino said, "If you keep opening it like that, you'll definitely break it."

"It's about time you got here."

Dino looked over and there stood Reborn, "Reborn, I never expected to see you again, my tutor."

"What took you so long? Did you get lost on your way here?"

"After all these years you still treat me like a kid," Dino chuckled slightly before falling off the horse.

'Don't tell me,' Tsuna thought to himself.

Dino rubbed the back of his head in head pain, "Man, I've been falling a lot lately."

'So he did get lost,' Reborn thought.

"Well anyway, let's through a welcoming party for Dino," Reborn said.

"Another party?" Tsuna asked.

Ed sighed, "Guess I'll have to go help make the food."

"Don't forget to put your shoes and jacket back on," Gokudera said, "Don't freak them out. Also, don't forget to put your hair up, you look like a girl."

"What was that you stupid squid?" Ed asked threateningly, kicking Gokudera into a wall, "Do you want to repeat that?"

"Oh, nothing nothing," Gokudera said, voice muffled by the rubble, "Forget I said anything."

"That's better," Ed left the room, heading back to where he had left his stuff.

* * *

><p>Ed had put his hair back into a braid and now had his jacket and shoes on once more. He walked into the large dining hall where the others were currently decorating.<p>

"Oh, you guys are busy I see," Ed said, looking at all the decorations, "The girls are as well. Just to let you know, I'll be training so I won't be attending dinner."

"What?" Tsuna asked, but he wasn't given an answer as Ed walked out of the room.

"Hmmph, ignoring Juudaime like that, who does he think he is?" Gokudera said angrily picking up another decoration.

* * *

><p><strong>~A few hours later~<strong>

Tsuna walked through the halls. They had just solved the whole fiasco with Dino's box weapon, the sky turtle, running wild. Dino was now announcing the training for everyone's box weapons. He just wanted to find Ed to tell him. After all, they hadn't seen the blonde since he left the dining hall. He had probably been training through the whole thing.

Tsuna soon reached the training room that Ed was supposed to be in. He walked inside and was confronted with Edward fighting what appeared to be a suit of armor. When Ed noticed his presence, however, the armor disappeared.

"Tsunayoshi-kun," Ed said walking up to Tsuna.

Tsuna now notice that Ed wasn't wearing a shirt. Tsuna's eyes trailed over all the scars that marred the immortal's skin. He flinched at a particularly large scar that appeared to be a dent in Ed's chest.

"What's that?" Tsuna asked quietly, still staring at the large scar.

"Oh, this?" Ed said pointing to the scar Tsuna was looking at, "Just a normal scar."

Ed walked over to his shirt, jacket, shoes, and socks and put them on quickly.

"What'd you need?"

"Oh, well Dino-san was going to give us our training schedules and I was wondering if you would like to come."

Ed nodded, "I'll go."

* * *

><p>Ed watched as Dino gave the training for the box weapons to the teens. Everything was soon wrapped up with everyone leaving silently. A presence pricked at the back of Ed's mind, causing him to stop. He waited till everyone left and the lights went out and sure enough, his waiting was rewarded as someone made their presence known.<p>

"They're gone," A feminine voice whispered.

"We really did it."

Ed watched as a sheet fell from the wall, revealing none other than Kyoko and Haru.

"Wonder what Byakuran, Millefiore and Vongola is?" Kyoko asked in wonder.

"Maybe it has something to do with the mafia Tsuna-san and the others belong to," Haru guessed.

"Mafia?"

"You two really shouldn't go sticking your noses into some things."

The two girls looked up in surprise as they saw Ed approaching them in the darkness.

"Ed-san?" Haru gasped in surprise.

"How'd you notice us?" Kyoko asked.

"You're four hundred years to early to be able to sneak up on me," Edward said, "Back to my other point, you may not realize what you're causing by wanting to know this."

"How do you know?" Haru accused, "Wouldn't you naturally want to know what was going on? Why the people you love were getting hurt?"

Ed sighed, "I'm speaking from experience. I've been left out of the loop countless times, got involved countless times, and hurt people countless times because of it. All I'm saying is that you should be careful."

Ed walked away, leaving the two girls staring at him in wonder as the door closed behind him.

* * *

><p>Ed looked at his young students who were currently discussing their training. Ed's eyes narrowed however when he noticed Haru and Kyoko along with Bianchi approaching the group.<p>

Ed kept his blank face as he watched the girls demand to know what was going on and Tsuna and the other boys trying to cover it all up. Ed sighed to himself when he watched the girls declare strike and Bianchi, Chrome, I-pin, Reborn, Giannini, and Fuuta side with them.

The guys freaked out as the girls walked away.

"What are we going to do?" Tsuna panicked.

"Ed-sensei," Yamamoto said, "Didn't you say you were able to do housework?"

"Yes I'm able to do housework, but I'll only cook meals and clean occasionally," Edward replied.

The others' looked down for a few minutes, but recovered quickly. At least they would sometimes get food.

Ed watched as his pupils walked away to resume their training.

* * *

><p>Ed stood in front of the stove, stirring the contents of the pan in front of him. He turned slightly when he heard the door open. In walked his young pupils, looking completely exhausted. They had to juggle chores and training all day.<p>

Ed smiled softly and turned off the stove, putting the food onto plates and placing them in front of the exhausted boys.

"Eat up!"

"Edward-sensei," Tsuna said, looking up at his teacher, "What would you do in this situation?"

"Well, before I was immortal, I had a really close friend. I was always getting into danger and doing reckless things, causing her to constantly worry for my brother's and I's safety. I never really told her what was going on, thinking she would get dragged into my battles. One day, I was severely injured, almost killed even, and was hospitalized along with my brother. I still refused to tell her even though she saw me in that state. That all changed however, when I saw her cry. I didn't tell her everything, but I still told her some of it. Sure, she didn't like hearing it, but I didn't regret telling her."

Tsuna looked at Ed for a while before turning back to his food.

* * *

><p>Ed looked at the opening hatch and saw Tsuna walking in, Kyoko beside him. From what Ed could hear, apparently Tsuna had told her everything. Tsuna continued to walk down the hall and soon disappeared into the kitchen, most likely going to tell Haru.<p>

After a few minutes, Tsuna emerged once more and Ed smiled at him, "You made the right decision, Tsunayoshi-kun."

"Oh, Edward-sensei," Tsuna looked surprised for a moment, "I didn't notice you there."

Tsuna and Edward walked through the hall, soon arriving at the meeting hall. They walked inside to see Dino.

"Tsuna," Dino said in greeting.

"Dino-san," Tsuna replied.

"I was just evaluating how the training was going."

Ed smiled at Gokudera's rant about how Ryohei and Lambo wouldn't listen to him. Yamamoto was still upset about not being able to train. Chrome's training was making progress quite nicely. Hibari was doing fine. Tsuna apparently got a hint on how to open his box.

They all looked up in surprise when a bunch of pac-man like things appeared on the screen. Ed got really annoyed when a cartoon Byakuran popped out. He was so close to punching the screen. He got even more annoyed when the real Byakuran appeared on the screen eating a huge sundae.

Byakuran informed them about where and when they will be meeting. When it quieted down a little bit, Ed finally spoke up.

"I'm surprised you're not fat yet with the way you eat, marshmallow addict," Ed sneered.

"Oh, that wasn't very nice Fullmetal-kun," Byakuran said.

Ed's eyes widened as he heard that name, the name he hadn't been called for over 400 years, "How would you know I'm here? You never open your eyes long enough to see everything."

"Now, aren't you mean Fullmetal-kun," Byakuran said, a fake pout adorning his cheeks, "Is that how you treat a friend?"

Ed's and everyone else's eyes widened, "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, you really don't remember," Byakuran said, "Guess 400 years isn't to kind on the memory. Bye-bye Vongola."

And just like that, Byakuran blinked off the screen and everyone turned to face Edward, "What was that 'friend' thing about?"

"I don't know! I don't know when I met him or how he knows I'm immortal," Ed replied, "I just don't know."

"We will have to bring everyone to choice it looks like," Reborn said, "In hindsight, Dame-Tsuna was right to tell them everything."

The guardians looked at Tsuna in shock. Ed flinched when Ryohei punched the wall in anger, leaving a huge dent in the wall.

"I'm still wondering how he got through our security system," Giannini said with worry as he typed away on his computer.

"Your security isn't shit," A voice said from the door, causing Reborn to smirk.

"It's about time you got here, Squalo," Dino said, taking the tuna offered to him by Squalo, "Your student has been waiting for a while."

Everyone looked back at Yamamoto who was apparently Squalo's student. Without missing a beat, Squalo headed towards Yamamoto and beat him to a pulp until he was collapsed on the floor. Wordlessly, Squalo picked up the swordsman and walked away for training.

Then, things got even more crazy. Ed couldn't react fast enough and Ryohei ended up punching Tsuna square in the face, sending the smaller boy crashing to the floor.

"I can't just forgive you for telling Kyoko, but I'm a man, one punch and I can move on," Ryohei said, fist frozen in place.

Edward sighed and bent down next to Tsuna, pulling his first aid kit out of his coat. He opened up the case and pulled out another vile of something, along with bandages. He poured some of the vile's contents and put a bandaid on the bridge of Tsuna's nose.

"Geez, you say one punch and it's over," Edward said, helping Tsuna up, "But in actuality that was the most immature thing you could've done. You can't shelter everyone from this. They're already dragged into it. Right now, for you to still think you can shelter them from the knowledge of what's happening is foolish. "

With that, Ed left the room silently.

"Ok, everyone, resume your training," Dino said.

Reborn and Dino watched everyone leave and soon they were the only ones left.

"Edward is getting more and more suspicious," Reborn said.

"You already told me about his immortality, which is strange in itself," Dino added, "But now the whole 'friend' thing with Byakuran... he's rather suspicious."

"Indeed. Tsuna told me about a scar that appears to be a dent in his chest, as if he was impaled by something," Reborn said, "The more we know about him, the more suspicious he becomes..."

Dino only nodded silently in response.

* * *

><p><strong>LunarFallenStar: Finally done! I'm still exhausted... R&amp;R everyone, bye!<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**LunarFallenStar: Hey guys! New chapter and the start of choice! Keep reading and I hope you like it! Thanks for the reviews everyone!**

**Phantom Hitman 1412: 'Poor Ed' is right, he can't handle all the Armstrong's and Armstrong sparkles. I gave Al sun flames because he always seems more like a healer than a fighter so I thought that it would work well. And I would never have Ed and Al lose contact, it would be too sad. I agree with you about how 'extreme men only go straight' was hilarious. Whenever my friends turned, I would tell them they weren't extreme, and then I'd end up walking into a wall. I thought the panda was cute too! Xiao Mei FTW! And I know it's sad that Ed had the box weapon of Al's suit of armor (I couldn't really think of anything else) Oh *hands tissue* I know, it reminds me of them training together as well. Thanks for the review! Glad you liked it!**

**Archsage328: I'll try to think of a way to get Ling or the other Brotherhood characters into this because it really is a good idea.**

**A Natsmu Yuujinchou Lover: Hi, ANYL. Thanks for the review and I hope you get better. I hate getting sick, and thanks for the advice not to overstress myself. I do it quite often.**

* * *

><p><strong><em>~Previously~<em>**

_**"Indeed. Tsuna told me about a scar that appears to be a dent in his chest, as if he was impaled by something," Reborn said, "The more we know about him, the more suspicious he becomes..."**_

_**Dino only nodded silently in response.**_

* * *

><p>The Vongola group stood in their base, decked out in their suits. Reborn made Ed wear one, much to Ed's discomfort. Ed, however, made some changes to the uniform. He was wearing a red suit like the others, but he REFUSED to wear the tie. Instead of buttoning the red suit jacket up, he left it unbuttoned, also leaving the white dress-shirt relatively untucked. He wasn't wearing dress shoes, going with his normal boots. His hair was in a usual braid with more rubber bands in his pocket if he had a hair malfunction like he had during training. He had also put his teacher's insignia on his shoulder as well. Everyone could see the chain of his silver pocket watch which he still kept with him, also having his ring attache to the chain. His boxes were hidden in his automail (He made last minute modifications). He also had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, automail hidden by the skin-like material. All in all, he stuck out like a sore thumb.<p>

Ed also felt incomplete without his long, red coat. They had to pry it away from him while he was screaming, "Red is a badass, tough-guy color that gets the blood boiling!" To which they told him he was going to be wearing red to which he replied, "I can't be badass in a monkey-suit! It's just not me!"

After the whole fiasco with Ed's wardrobe (the only reason they let him make the changes was because he stopped whining) they were finally ready to go.

They set out, soon arriving at Namimori shrine. They all grew worried when Hibari and Yamamoto had yet to show. Ed got really pissed off when he saw Byakuran's face appearing out of the clouds, obnoxiously large in size.

"He just loves to pis me off," Ed muttered.

Kyoko and Haru looked at him in surprise, "What's up with the change in character?" Haru asked.

"I have no clue, Haru-chan."

"To get to the area for Choice, you will need 5 million Fiamma volts," Byakuran said, "Considering you're the ones using the teleportation, you should be the ones to pay for it. Hurry up, Vongola, time is ticking."

"Man, he REALLY likes to pis me off," Ed muttered more loudly.

"Oh, Fullmetal-kun," Byakuran said, "Mind your language. Cussing's not nice."

"Can it, Marshmallow-addict!" Ed said, "You just blew up a fucking mountain!"

"What did I say about language, Fullmetal-kun?"

"I don't care! Shut up, miserable fuck!" Ed yelled in response, picking up a rock and throwing it at the face of Byakuran projected in the sky.

"Awww, I'm hurt Fullmetal-kun," Byakuran whined, "Vongola, get going with those Fiamma volts, when the light disappears, you'll be disqualified."

Everyone, besides Ed who was still fuming, began to panic as the light slowly began to minimize.

"But, not all of us are here yet!" Tsuna said.

"Oh, I'm glad you're so loyal to the rules, but it just sounds like excuses to me."

The light continued to minimize until it was only a speck on Tsuna's forehead.

That was when two pillars of flame rose up from the ground, hitting the Byakuran hologram straight on. Everyone smirked, pulling out their boxes. Ed looked at his pupils with pride, he was still pissed at Byakuran, but his pride for his students covered it up.

They all watched as a rainbow of light shot forth and hit the machine floating in the sky.

"I was right," Irie said, "I was right to bring them from the past. The only light that can stand against Byakuran, the tenth generation Vongola family!"

When the large amount of light disappeared, Tsuna and the rest had their box weapons open, ready for action.

"Hey, Sawada, how did you know they would come?" Ryohei asked.

"No, All I knew was that we needed everyone together or we couldn't defeat Byakuran," Tsuna replied, causing everyone to look at him in mild shock. Reborn smirked at his statement, fedora shadowing his eyes.

"Yes, marvelous," Byakuran's face reappeared in the sky, "Over five million Fiamma volts... you pass. Then let's get down to starting Choice."

"Yeah," Tsuna said, Na-tsu growling in response beside him as well.

"The first choice will be the selection of a battlefield," Byakuran said, a stream of cards appearing in the sky, flowing down to Tsuna and his group, "On account of your wonderful flames, I'll yield the choice of the battlefield to your side."

"What are those?" Kyoko asked in confusion.

"Playing cards?" Haru added.

"You've heard the rules of choice from Sho-chan, correct?" Byakuran's voice was heard once more, "Choice is a game of choices."

"No way!" Ed said with sarcastic amazement, "I never would've guessed!"

"That was rude, Fullmetal-kun," Byakuran said, "Anyway, battlefields and combatants must be chosen before you can begin. The outcome is largely affected by fate. Now, chose a card, Tsunayoshi-kun. That will be the choice you've made."

"But the cards were made by the enemy," Giannini began.

"Don't worry," Irie interrupted, "Choice is the one occasion where Byakuran will never cheat."

"Juudaime," Gokudera said.

"All yours, Tsuna," Yamamoto smiled at Tsuna with confidence.

"Yeah," Ryohei said, clenching his fist in determination, his box weapon also growling in acceptance beside him.

Hibari merely grunted at Tsuna, because you really can't expect anything less besides 'Herbivore' or 'I'll bight you to death'.

"Lambo-san wants to draw! Wants to draw!" Lambo whined, waving his lollipop in the air only to be picked up by Chrome.

"Boss..." Chrome said quietly.

"Okay, I'll make my choice," Tsuna said, drawing a card.

Byakuran looked down, "The battlefield card is lightning. Let's go then."

Everyone looked around in shock as they began to float.

"My body is floating on its own!" Giannini panicked.

"It's okay, don't panic!" Irie said.

"You know, it's kind of relaxing," Ed said, leaning back in the air, closing his eyes.

"Eek!" Haru said, "What about this is relaxing!"

Kyoko just clung to Haru.

"Lambo-san is flying!" Lambo cried.

"Damn... what the hell?" Gokudera asked, wincing slightly as Uri clung to his hair as they floated.

As they continued to float, their yells got louder. Haru and Kyoko desperately tried to hold their skirts down. Reborn was just sitting cross-legged, going with the flow.

Soon, a bright light filled the air and they were sucked up into the machine, only to be deposited unceremoniously somewhere else.

Tsuna, being the unlucky one, landed on his face only to have Ed and Reborn fall on him.

"Hey, that wasn't so bad," Ed said to Reborn.

"Would you mind getting off of me, Edward-sensei, Reborn..." Tsuna said weakly, the flame on his head disappearing, "Man, that hurt. Everyone, are you okay?"

"Yes," Bianchi replied, slowly getting up.

Suddenly, a voice rang out, "It feels like we've met many times, but this your first time meeting in person," Everyone looked up, seeing Byakuran along with the six funeral wreaths, "Tsunayoshi-kun."

"Ah, their they are!" Tsuna said, "Byakuran and the real six Funeral Wreaths!"

"This is where we'll be fighting," Byakuran announced, "Don't you think it's a fine location? Don't worry about all the people, as there is no one but us here. We are the only ones in this place."

"A battlefield made especially for Choice..." Irie muttered.

"Well, we'll explain everything in due time," Byakuran said.

"BOO! Puhleaze!" A girl with long blue hair said, "They're a bunch of kids!"

"What! Damn you!" Gokudera growled.

"Boo, I can handle this lot by myself!" She said once more.

"You do realize you appear younger than them," Ed spoke up.

She raised her hand into the sky, rain flames appearing around it and turning it into a blade.

"Now, now, Bluebell," A man...? with long green hair said, "Byakuran-sama has been waiting for this party for a long time. We should enjoy ourselves."

Hibari raised his tonfas, a cloud flame appearing on his ring.

"O-ho, my cloud counterpart appears to be you in the school uniform," The man with the green hair spoke once more, "I'm Kikyo, pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Enough chit-chat," Hibari said, "Let's get started."

"But we can't do that yet, Hibari-chan," Byakuran said, holding what appeared to be a golden cylinder, "This is choice. We have to proceed to the next choice."

'Wait, wait,' Ed thought, a thought bubble appeared over his head (cue thought theater), 'I'm confused. So the one with the blue hair... Bluebell, i think, is obviously a girl, but isn't she a child? And that guy? Kikyo, he sounds like a man but has long hair and wears make-up like a woman. Not to mention the name Kikyo... and the guy with red hair the one who took the magma bath, I hope he's not a woman 'cause then he'd be a woman with a beard with all that stubble on his chin... and the other guy with dark green hair holding the bunny, is that a man or a woman? I'm so confused! Not to mention the dude with the mask! What's up with him... wait, wears the sixth guardian... there's only five... What's going on!'

"Elric," Gokudera waved a hand in front of his face, "Pay attention."

Ed snapped back to reality to see to large holographic panels with the elements and numbers on it.

"For Vongola, you get Sky, Storm, and Rain on the field," Byakuran said, "Lucky spin."

"What's the box at the bottom, I've never seen an element like that before!" Gokudera demanded.

"That's a null element, in other words. People without rings. You spun a two," Byakuran said, "So you'll have to send two of them out."

"Eek!"

Everyone turned around to see one of the Millefiore members in front of Haru and Kyoko.

"Who are you?" Haru asked.

"I'm Daisy," He held up a wilted flower, "This is for you."

All of a sudden, a rope wrapped around him and yanked him back, "Sorry about that, the second I take my eyes off him..." Kikyo said, "Daisy has a weakness for the lovely and fragile, like you two."

"Hey, marshmallow freak," Edward said.

"How dare you talk to Byakuran-sama so casually?" Bluebell demanded.

"Be quiet, cow," Edward said annoyed.

"C-c-cow?" Bluebell repeated.

"I was wondering something," You say null-elements only apply to those without rings, but that only includes elemental rings such as sky, rain, storm, cloud, mist, lightning, and sun, correct?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"So, if one of us were to have a ring that wasn't part of those aforementioned elements, technically it would b a null element correct?"

"Yes," Byakuran nodded, "Strange question to ask..."

"Actually, no it's not," Edward said, "I just wanted to make sure..."

"Another question, Byakuran," Irie said, stepping forward, "I don't have a ring, so wouldn't I be considered a null element?"

"Awww, that's crafty Sho-chan, but I'll allow it," Byakuran said, "You can participate as a null-element."

"Okay, with that information, we already have our starting line-up," Irie said, "Sawada Tsunayoshi for Sky, Gokudera Hayato for Storm, Yamamoto Takeshi for Rain, and Spanner and I for the null-elements. You have no objections, correct?"

"I'm fine with that line up, at least everyone has battle experience," Tsuna said.

"Ooooo! Fullmetal-kun's not participating this time!" Byakuran said, "Then for our side we'll have Kikyo for cloud, Daisy for Sun, and Torikabuto for mist."

"Wait, you need two mist members, you only have one," Irie pointed out.

"Oh crap..." Byakuran and Bluebell said, "That's what you expected us to say... right?"

"What?"

"I told you before that everyone of them has 100 A-ranked soldiers at their command. We can easily find a mist user," Byakuran said, "We've already selected the mist user anyway. One of Torikabuto's men, Saru."

Everyone watched as a person appeared through the mist.

Edward zoned out once more, completely uninterested in the conversation. Sure, it would decide the fate of the world, but whenever he was thinking about something, he forgot about it completely.

He briefly watched as Dino revealed himself, when the Cervello came to be judges, and Squalo revealed himself as well. He snapped out of it when he and the other the contestants were teleported to their base, while the non-participants were sent to the viewing areas.

* * *

><p>Gokudera sighed, telling Yamamoto how to tie his tie. Tsuna sighed at Gokudera's speech about 'how a man should know how to do this' because Tsuna himself didn't know how to tie a tie.<p>

"Judging by everyones fighting styles, I would suggest Tsuna and Yamamoto on offense with Gokudera on defense," Irie said, target flame shining brightly on his chest.

Gokudera growled at the red-head before finally accepting when Tsuna intervened.

"Spanner and I will stay here to give guidance," Irie said.

The voice of the Cervello sounded over the speakers, signaling the start of choice.

Irie pressed the button that caused the tarp to fall off the base. Ed smirked and closed his eyes, the dull grey flame appearing on his forehead.

"All personnel: Launch!" Irie said, and on cue, Tsuna, Yamamoto, and Gokudera sped off on their bikes.

* * *

><p>In the observing station, Kyoko looked at the monitor in amazement, "I never imagined the mafia fight would be like this!"<p>

"It's as if Irie is on the field with them," Dino mused, "Something to be expected of the leader of the Merone base."

They continued to watch as Tsuna appeared behind Torikabuto, slamming the masked man into the building.

"The building didn't shatter," Tsuna said in amazement.

"All of these buildings are coated with the hardness factor of lightning," The Cervello said monotonously, "If you slam into one at a high speed, it'll be like slamming into the concrete if you fell off of these buildings."

Torikabuto slowly peeled himself off the window he collided with, turning to face Tsuna once more. Everyone was stunned when his cloak tore into shreds, flying around Tsuna before turning into sea snakes.

"This can't be an illusion, it wouldn't have appeared on the monitor if it was," Basil said as the sea snakes swirled around Tsuna.

"Stupid kid, don't you know anything? Powerful illusions can fool machines," Squalo said, "His illusions are fused with his box weapon, making them even stronger."

Everyone just gazed at the monitor, watching Tsuna's fight from afar.

* * *

><p><strong>Time Skip~<strong>

Tsuna stared at the sea snakes headed for him, realizing they were coated with lightning class flames. Tsuna dodged quickly, the sea snakes colliding with the building behind him.

He turned around in shock as one by one the snakes penetrated the hardened shell of the building. His shock grew as the top half of the building slowly slid out of place.

He continued to dodge the wave after wave of sea snakes until he was surrounded by them. Quickly, they formed a cage around him.

"Mystic illusion," Torikabuto said, "Repe Serpente di Mare..."

A grid of sea snakes surrounded Tsuna, preventing his escape.

He gritted his teeth as the grid closed in on him, "They're getting closer..." He looked down as Na-Tsu was shaking his box violently, "Na-Tsu...Got it, I'm counting on you."

Tsuna reached down his hand, picking up his box. Igniting his ring, Tsuna injected his flames into the box. Everyone watched as a torrent of sky flames surged out of the box. When the flames cleared, everyone saw a small lion sitting upon his shoulder.

"Leone di Cielo ver. Vongola!" Tsuna muttered, earning a happy growl from Na-Tsu.

In the Vongola viewing area, Basil gaped in shock, "The sky lion, ver. Vongola! That is Sawada-dono's!"

"Wow! That's Tsuna's box weapon?" Kyoko said.

"So cute!" Haru added.

"What I would expect from Tsuna," Dino said.

'A sky class lion, just like our damn boss,' Squalo thought, 'But, they're very different...'

Na-Tsu, still perched on Tsuna's shoulders, looked down, growling, "GAO!"

Sky flames surged from Na-Tsu's mouth, consuming the grid of snakes in fire and petrifying it. Tsuna flew forward, successfully breaking through the grid.

"Thought so," Byakuran said from his seat in the Millefiore viewing area, "Using the sun-class harmony factor to petrify them?"

"This is over," Tsuna said, charging towards Torikabuto, but before he could reach, the windows began to crack, releasing another torrent of sea snakes.

"Let's do this, Na-Tsu," Tsuna muttered, earning a 'gao' from Na-Tsu, "Na-Tsu, Cambio Forma Modo Difesa."

The visor upon Na-Tsu's head began to glow, "GAO!"

Everyone watched as all of the sea snakes covered Tsuna completely, shielding him from view.

A light appeared, covering the sea snakes. All of a sudden, the snakes were blown back, revealing Tsuna protected by a cloak, "Mantello di Vongola Primo!"

The cloak disappeared and Na-Tsu was once again on Tsuna's shoulder, "Thank you, Na-Tsu. Now it's my turn."

Tsuna charged Torikabuto, only to have him dodge. Tsuna's feet collided with the bridge before pushing off once again with greater speed. Tsuna shot forward, hitting his opponent in the back of the neck before punching the back of his head, sending Torikabuto flying through the building and colliding with the concrete.

"Good job, Tsuna," Ed said over the earpiece.

"Tsunayoshi, extinguish your flames and go by bike, that way the enemy won't detect you, thus stopping a joined attack."

Tsuna nodded and began to descend to his bike.

"Shouichi," Spanner said, "An enemy is approaching Yamamoto Takeshi's bike."

"Yamamoto, their is an enemy approaching your location, most likely to destroy the decoy," Irie told Yamamoto, "I'm lowering the decoy within the reach of your sword so that you can make the first attack while the enemy is preoccupied with the decoy."

Yamamoto suddenly got off his bike, slowly pulling out his sword.

"Yamamoto-kun?"

"Someone's here, we'll talk later."

Yamamoto noticed a small ping against the decoy and charged, ready to attack. He was surprised however when a mass of plants erupted from the decoy, some wrapping around his leg and others attempting to strike him directly. He dodged them, but was pinned to the ground and his sword was knocked away in the process.

"Very impressive dodging," A voice said, mist eventually gathering and clearing to reveal Saru.

"You're Saru, from the Millefiore!" Yamamoto said.

"But I find it ironic," Saru said, "You barely made it out alive last time only to find yourself facing the same fate once again, Yamamoto Takeshi.

"Once again?" Yamamoto asked in confusion.

"Will this help you?" Saru sneered, his mask fading away only to reveal...

"Genkishi?" Yamamoto yelled, everyone listening on the Vongola side's eyes filling with shock.

"Impossible!" Irie said, "Didn't Tsunayoshi-kun defeat Genkishi?"

Edward looked down, bangs shadowing his eyes, just like_ them_ they would 'die' but wouldn't stay dead...

"You should know the difference in power between you and I," Genkishi continued to preach.

"Yamamoto, whatever you do," Edward whispered, even though Yamamoto couldn't hear him, "Don't listen to his bullshit! You've trained and gotten stronger. He's not as tough as he likes to sound!"

"Unlucky guy..." Genkishi said, raising his sword into the sky to have mist flames surround it, "Farewell!"

Genkishi swung his sword, sending blades of mist flames heading towards Yamamoto who ignited his ring, opening up his box.

A cloud of dust blocked everyones view of Yamamoto and all they could do is wait for it to clear.

"You're the one who's unlucky, Genkishi," Squalo said, watching as the dust cleared, revealing a standing Yamamoto with two swords in his hands and a dog by his side, holding a sword in its mouth, black feathers falling in the wind all around them.

"I've been waiting for a chance," Yamamoto said, Rain flames swirling around his swords, "To get revenge."

"The dog with the katana, is your Vongola box?" Genkishi asked.

"Yeah, somewhat I guess," The rain flames disappeared, leaving only the hilts of the katanas, "It's an Akita Inu named Jiro. He looks after my three short swords for me."

Yamamoto bent down, Jiro hopping up onto his master, whimpering affectionately as Yamamoto gave him a hug.

Squalo face-palmed and thought to himself, 'that damn brat, stop wasting time...'

"But I'm actually gonna use four swords, like you did last time," Yamamoto said, rubbing the back of his head, "So, is it okay for me to grab my fourth sword? That last attack sent it flying."

"Yamamoto Takeshi," Genkishi said, "You have certainly matured a bit, but don't push your luck. After dodging just one attack!"

Yamamoto smirked, spinning the hilts of his swords in his hands before igniting his ring. Using the flames to propel himself backwards, he dodged all of Genkishi's exploding box weapon slugs and made his way back to his sword, effectively grabbing the hilt after sending the hilt of his other rain sword into his other hand. He propelled himself backwards once more, using the two rain blades he had in one hand to control his flames. His Shigure Kintoki had turned back into a katana.

He surged forward once more, Rain flames pushing him forward causing Genkishi to be shocked for a moment. Genkishi raised his sword up to block the oncoming attack effectively, or so he thought when a cut appeared on his cheek yet no sword had touched him.

'This man...' Genkishi thought, swinging his sword to send Yamamoto back to the ground and gain distance between the two. Genkishi's eyes flashed dangerously and Yamamoto looked around in surprise as more and more plants swirled around him before Genkishi disappeared once more in the mist.

In the cylinder of plants, Yamamoto lit his ring once more and dodged yet another barrage of Genkishi's invisible exploding box weapons. Smoke filled the area and everyone thought that Yamamoto wouldn't be able to fight if he couldn't see the enemy, all except for Squalo who only smirked.

"Over there!" Yamamoto called out, throwing his two Rain swords into the wall of plants to be rewarded as the mist collected once more and revealed a stunned Genkishi.

Jiro tossed the hilt in his mouth to Yamamoto who successfully caught it and ignited the rain flames turning it into another sword.

He flew up to Genkishi and slashed him across the chest, sending the illusionist flying out of the prison of plants he had created and back into the metropolis playing field.

As they landed on the ground, Yamamoto wordlessly caught the three hilts, balancing them between his fingers with expert precision.

"Unbelievable," Genkishi said, clutching the wound on his shoulder, "He was able to see through my illusion that was perfectly synchronized with Spettrale Nudibranc!(His slug box weapon)"

Yamamoto laughed, "The plan worked. You were so focused on Jiro that you didn't notice the one above."

A look of genuine shock passed over Genkishi's features, 'Above?' he thought. He looked up in surprise, only to see Yamamoto's Rain swallow.

"It was spreading Rain-class flames on the giant tree created by your sea slugs. And Rain-class flames carry the tranquility attribute so then, once your slugs had been bathed in Rain-class flames, their movements gradually became slower. Your speed remained the same, so you ended up getting out of sync."

The swallow slowly descended and landed on Yamamoto's waiting hand, "By the way, this guy's named Kojiro."

"Well then... Just so you know, we've only just started to get serious." Yamamoto said.

Back in the viewing area, some people were shocked at Yamamoto's drastic change in his skill level. Listening to Squalo's story carefully, Reborn spoke up.

"Choosing the sword when forced to choose between two options. He's just like the original Guardian of theRain Ring."

"From the original Vongola Family?" Basil asked, looking at Reborn.

"Yeah, the original guardian of the rain ring," Reborn replied, "It was said that he had no peer when it came to the sword, his talent was admired by all. But he loved music above all else and didn't possess a sword of his own. However, when he heard his foreign friend, Vongola Primo, was in trouble, he sold the instrument he valued more then his life to pay for weapons and travel expenses in order to help. He didn't hesitate to give up everything for his friend. He exchanged his instrument to have three short swords and one long blade made."

"Oh yeah, I remember that," Edward said, smiling, "I thought we were so screwed then... After it was over, Giotto got him another instrument, even though it wouldn't fill the void. Asari's music was really pretty, I'll never forget it."

"Um, Ed-san," Haru said, "How do you know this?"

Ed's eyes widened and he paled considerably. He felt sweat on his brow and he looked around nervously, "Ummm... Reborn continue your story! You didn't finish it did you?"

"Hahi! You didn't answer my-" Haru began, but was cut off as Reborn continued speaking.

"Inside Yamamoto's box was Jiro and three short swords, but that wasn't all," Reborn said, "Kojiro the rain swallow was integrated with the Vongola Box and upgraded. Yamamoto should be able to understand what that means by now."

"Kojiro! Cambio Forma!" Yamamoto called out. Kojiro flew down from the sky and collided with the hilt of Yamamoto's Shigure Kintoki, morphing into it and lengthening the blade.

"So Yamamoto's Vongola Box holds what was considered a blessed shower to cleanse all..." Reborn said, "Asari Ugetsu, the four irregular swords!"

Yamamoto held the long sword in his hand and the three short swords in the other, all of the four covered in rain flames.

"Man, he really looks like Asari," Ed said, again forgetting about Kyoko and Haru being there, "Get rid of that monkey suit and replace it with the traditional Japanese outfit and give him a hat, he'd be the spitting image of him."

"There you go again!" Haru said, "Haru demands an answer!"

"Mr. Elric will tell you later," Reborn said, "Just wait for a moment."

Genkishi stared at Yamamoto, gritting his teeth before jumping away from Yamamoto.

* * *

><p>Tsuna sped down the street on his air-bike, scanning his surroundings to see if any threat was near.<p>

"Tsunayoshi-kun," Irie said.

"Yes?"

"You've defeated Torikabuto and the Phantom Knight disguised as Saru is currently battling Yamamoto. We haven't seen Kikyo yet because of the decoys, but now would be the perfect time to eliminate the enemies while their guard is down."

"Got it," Tsuna turned and headed towards where the enemy base should be located.

* * *

><p>'The flames from that blade,' Genkishi thought to himself, 'It seems that this isn't the same Yamamoto Takeshi I fought before.'<p>

"I'm ready to go, Phantom Knight," Yamamoto said, fully facing his opponent.

"Very well. I acknowledge that you're a swordsman worthy of defeating with my full power," Genkishi said, his hell ring beginning to glow, "But you better not regret it. I will no longer show you any mercy!"

Mist flames enveloped Genkishi, blocking everyones' view of him. When the mist cleared, their he stood in his skeletal form.

Yamamoto merely stared at him for a while before smirking, "There it is."

Genkishi laughed madly, "Full power! My strength has multiplied. But why? Why am I not recognized even though I wield so much power? Why is Torikabuto the real Mist Funeral Wreath when I am so much better?"

Everyone looked at him in mild shock.

"Wow, when this guys at 'full power' his sanity and calmness just goes out the window doesn't it?" Edward said, "He's actually a lot less scary right now. It shows all his weakness..."

"I am clearly the best equipped to serve as the Guardian of the Mist Ring, for god... for Lord Byakuran!"

'What a spout of nonsense,' Ed thought to himself, 'There's no such thing as 'god'.'

"I'm angry! I'm gonna rip you apart!" He yelled, "I'm going to tell you a secret! I wasn't at my full strength when I lost to Sawada Tsunayoshi! I was distracted by the look in his eyes and using only half of my power! Prepare yourself!"

"It wouldn't be fun otherwise," Yamamoto said, lifting up his long blade.

"Insolent brat!" Genkishi said, "Take this double attack from my sword and Spettrale Nudibranc! Danza Spettrale Spada!"

Genkishi swung his blade, sending a barrage of explosions latched onto a blade of Mist-class flames. Yamamoto gripped the three sword hilts tighter in his hands and ignited the flames.

'Shigure Soen Ryu, Defensive stance four: Seasonal Rain,' Yamamoto thought to himself as he disappeared from sight because of the high-speed movements he was performing, effectively dodging the attack.

They watched as the same attack was launched once more, but ten times as many projectiles as Genkishi cloned himself by ten through illusions.

Yamamoto stood in front of the oncoming multitude of force, gripping his blades tighter, "Shigure Soen Ryu, All in One!"

"All in One?" Basil asked in confusion.

"He's combining it all together..." Reborn muttered.

Yamamoto leapt up into the fray of his opponent's attacks, his rain flames spreading out through it all, "Rainy Metamorphosis!"

When the Rain-class flames faded away, they saw that all of Genkishi's attacks had been stopped, literally in slow motion, barely inching along enough to be noticed.

"Wh-what?" Genkishi questioned, "Where are you, Yamamoto Takeshi!"

"It's true that you defeated me once before, but that was because of my inexperience," Yamamoto said, charging at Genkishi from the front, "My old man's Shigure Soen Ryu has always been perfect and its power second to none!"

"Attacking from the front?" Genkishi sneered, "Fool- what? Fast! No that's not it... he isn't fast, my movements have become slow?"

Genkishi looked down, finally taking notice of the rain flames covering his feet.

'Shigure Soen Ryu, Offensive stance eight:" Yamamoto thought, readying his blade, 'Pouring rain!'

Genkishi turned back to his flesh form and all of his attacks disappeared. Defeated, he fell to the ground, all energy lost.

"Why?" Genkishi questioned aloud, "First the Vongola brat... now you... Why don't you finish me off?"

"That's because we aren't fighting for the sake of taking away people's lives," Yamamoto replied simply.

"You'll regret it," Genkishi said, "I vow to achieve my goal for the sake of Lord Byakuran..."

"That's our Phanny," Byakuran said, eating another marshmallow.

"Yeah, I wouldn't have it any other way," Yamamoto said once again.

Everyone looked in shock when flowers sprouted out of his body, fueled by sun flames. Kikyo, who created the flowers, began to explain to Genkishi that this was Byakuran's idea to dispose of Genkishi when his usefulness ran out. Genkishi refused to believe it, saying that his god will save him, that Lord Byakuran would save him. As he got closer and closer to death, Bianchi took Kyoko, Haru, Lambo, and I-pin out of the room. Some looked on in shock as Genkishi exploded, dying at the hands of his own comrades.

"This is the true nature of our enemy, the Millefiore..." Irie said, "Of Byakuran-san!"

"Let's win..." Tsuna said, "The stuff about saving the world and the trinisette policy didn't affect me personally at first, but it's clear that Byakuran is doing horrible things to everyone."

"Sawada," Ryohei said.

"Boss," Chrome muttered.

"Juudaime," Gokudera said.

"Hnn," Hibari grunted.

"Tsuna," Yamamoto said

"Tsunayoshi-kun," Irie said.

Reborn smirked.

"Okay, let's charge them!" Irie said, "We win if we defeat their target first. At the moment, it's five versus two. Numerically speaking, we can defeat their target two to one much faster than they can defeat our target one to three. And the enemy attacker is still distracted with the decoys and unaware of my position."

"This is a perfect chance," Dino said, Reborn smirking on his shoulder.

"Gokudera-kun should remain on defense! Tsunayoshi-kun and Yamamoto-kun should head straight for the target through the air!" Irie commanded.

"Yeah!" The other three said in unison.

Daisy looked at his flame detector, "Th-this is bad!"

'Just you wait, Byakuran,' Tsuna thought, 'We're definitely going to win!'

Edward punched his fist into his palm, "Man, there's a whole bunch of idiots whose asses we've got to kick, I'll have to make a list just to keep track of 'em all!"

* * *

><p><strong>LunarFallenStar: And chapter end! Whew, finally done. Well, R&amp;R everyone! Stay tuned! Bye bye for now!<strong>


	11. Chapter 11

**LunarFallenStar: Hey Guys! New chapter! Responding to reviews now!**

**Phantom Hitman 1412: Yep, it's one of my longer chapters. And hair malfunction is a milder way to put it... and the first thing I came up with. (Also, most of the paragraphs below is my response to your review... I had a lot to say today...)**

**And yay! I'm not the only one who tried to make an Ed coat! I couldn't find a coat that could fit me either so I did find a red hoodie that would work but it took forever and it was one that my friend literally _made_ me for my birthday. It took her forever and I helped with the insignia! **

**With the banter between Byakuran and Ed, I just felt like it would be something Ed would do... **

**And I've done something like you did with the milk crates before. Except it wasn't how far you could go it was something called the leap where basically you climb up this huge wooden post that's like over 50 feet in the air (hooked up to a harness of course) and jump, trying to hit a bell. Unfortunately for me, I'm really small for my age, and it's even worse 'cause I'm the oldest one in my class, so I jumped off the highest one first and kept on spinning round and round. Unfortunately for me once more, it was in a forest so I got a face-full of tree over like 10 times. When I finally got down, I was going to fast and decked like all of my friends and then hit another tree and my foot actually got stuck in a knothole in the tree. It took forever to get me down. They said it was funny for me to shout 'I believe I can fly' before getting a face full of tree. Man, I just went off on a tangent. **

**And I like Kikyo too. He's one of my favorite 'bad guy' Millefiore members and I think that would probably be Ed's reaction to him. And I love his character song. Have you heard Bel's 'Bloody Prince' or Lal Mirch's 'Burning Prayer'? They're both really good in my opinion.**

**Ed does need a hit list. I always joke with my friends about having a hit list and that they're at the top, it really freaks them out. Here's the new chapter and LOL Hasta la Pasta.**

**Archsage328: Yep and just wait, Ed _really _spills the beans in this chapter. And you're right, we all have moments like that.**

**SunshineAndMoonlight: Oh yeah, he would, guess I forgot to type his reaction...oops. Thanks for the review and BTW I love your new profile picture, SO CUTE! I love Chobits!**

**A Natsume Yuujinchou Lover: Hey ANYL! Yep, Ed's really careless. Oh and sorry about that recap thing, I forgot to put Ed's name in. They are talking about Ed. I think Ed would have a large scar on his chest mainly because of how Envy stabbed him and killed him in the first anime, so yeah.**

* * *

><p><strong><em>~Previously<em>**

**_'Just you wait, Byakuran,' Tsuna thought, 'We're definitely going to win!'_**

**_Edward punched his fist into his palm, "Man, there's a whole bunch of idiots whose asses we've got to kick, I'll have to make a list just to keep track of 'em all!"_**

* * *

><p><strong>Viewing Area P.O.V<strong>

Everyone watched with baited breath as the battle of Choice raged on. No one averted their attention when Bianchi, Kyoko, Haru, Lambo, and I-pin returned once more, bringing beverages with them.

They slowly handed out the drinks. Kyoko asked quietly, "How's it going out there?"

"We're on the offense!" Ryohei yelled, "EXTREME rush!"

Bianchi handed Edward a cup of coffee. He sighed to himself when he grabbed it, feeling no comfort as most would in its heat as he couldn't feel it at all.

He returned his gaze to the screen when Yamamoto stopped suddenly. His eyes narrowed as the screen showed Kikyo getting closer and closer to the Vongola base at a speed that caused much discomfort.

Things only got worse when they noticed Tsuna heading off in the wrong direction as well.

When Yamamoto charged once more, they heard Tsuna's voice, "It isn't the navigator that's broken. This is an illusion of Torikabuto, I haven't defeated him yet."

Shock rose through the group, "What?"

Ed's grip on the mug tightened. He loosened it however when he heard a faint cracking noise, 'I had a bad feeling about this from the start...' Ed thought, glaring at the screen.

The screen changed once more to show Yamamoto trying to attack the Millefiore's base unit, but failing as a mysterious barrier kept him out, the target sitting inside comfortably as if to mock them.

Ed gritted his teeth, "This situation was hopeless to begin with..."

Reborn turned around and faced him, "Now aren't you negative, Mr. Elric."

Ed looked at the infant in shock for a few moments before staring intently at the coffee in his hands, bangs now shadowing his eyes.

The screen's image now displayed Gokudera who was watching the skyline intently, waiting for Kikyo to approach. Everyone was shocked as Kikyo appeared in front of Gokudera, no one even noticing him anywhere near the bomber beforehand.

Gokudera lept back in surprise before lighting his ring and injecting flames into his vongola box, releasing Uri and Sistema C.A.I.

He skidded to a halt on the pavement. Kikyo raised his hand and hit Uri, sending the poor cat flying.

"Uri!" Gokudera yelled in distress before lighting the four other rings on his hand as well.

"Bastard, let's see how you do against my five wavelengths!"

Before Gokudera could even open one box, a group of vines wrapped around the boxes, keeping them shut despite any of Gokudera's attempts.

Gokudera, unable to fight, could only watch as Kikyo sped off towards the Vongola base.

"Dammit," Gokudera said, clenching his fists in frustration, "Irie, I let him past me, I'm sorry."

* * *

><p><strong>Battlefield P.O.V<strong>

Irie clenched his fists and slammed them onto the desk in front of him.

"Could the Millefiore's strategy really have been better all along?" Irie said, clenching his eyes shut as if it would make this whole situation disappear like a dream.

"Shouichi," Spanner got the red heads attention, "Installing the laser traps."

Irie nodded in response, looking at the flame detection unit to see where Kikyo was on the battlefield.

As Kikyo neared, he activated the traps. But to everyones' horror, none of them worked as Kikyo shielded himself with a thin veil of cloud flames. Smirking to himself, he used his plants to hit all of the laser traps dead on, causing a massive explosion.

"O-ho. You surely couldn't have thought that would stop me?" Kikyo said as he continued to fly towards the Vongola base.

"Spanner, activate the mobility of the base," Irie said, giving out orders in panic.

"Shouichi-kun," Tsuna's voice sounded over the transmitter.

"Tsunayoshi-kun," Irie said, "Is that you?"

"Yeah," Tsuna responded, "What's the situation?"

"Kikyo destroyed the last of our traps, our only option was to flee."

"I've tried to break out of the illusions by flying at high speeds, but've been unsuccessful. Torikabuto has yet to show himself as well," Tsuna reported, "I think his only goal was to delay me."

Irie clenched his fists again, repeating his question, "Could the Millefiore's strategy really have been better?"

"Shouichi, Kikyo approaching quickly," Spanner said, "Only a few hundred yards away."

Irie panicked for a moment.

Above and a little ways away from the moving Vongola base, Kikyo smirked. He watched as the Vongola futilely tried to run from him.

"O-ho. Think you can run from me?"

Kikyo chased them relentlessly, readying another attack. He was halted, however, when Irie and Spanner launched a smoke screen, blocking his view.

"O-ho. A smoke screen? No matter... as long as the target flame still burns, it'll be easy to find you."

"Spanner! Release all of the aerial decoys!" Irie said.

Spanner, nodding briefly, slammed his hand onto the control panel, quickly releasing the last of them.

"More decoys?" Kikyo's voice proved how annoyed he really was, "I don't want to deal with more of those... BEGONE!"

Kikyo held up his hand, his vines appearing, cloud-class flames covering them. Without missing a beat, he slashed out his hand, sending hundreds of vines into the smoke, dissipating it while destroying the decoys of it as well.

Kikyo flew on, the fog more like a faint mist now. He looked at his radar once more, "O-ho. You slowed down? I must've landed a hit."

He readied more vines, "Time to end this-"

His statement was cut off by an explosion. He backed away from the smoke and looked down to see none other than Gokudera on his air-bike, bombs out and his boxes still sealed.

Gokudera readied another attack and sent it flying, the bombs changing courses at random, all heading towards Kikyo who dodged with ease.

In a millisecond, Kikyo appeared once more in front of a surprised Gokudera. He rose his hand up once more and slashed it out. A cloud of smoke blocked the people who were viewing's vision. All that could be heard was Gokudera's strangled cry.

"Now that the side-character's gone," Kikyo said, flying into the sky once more. He was soon above the Vongola base and he sent another attack raining down upon the base, "I can move onto the main dish."

Everyone watched in horror as the Vongola base veered off course and into a nearby building, a small explosion occurring because of the sudden contact.

Everyone cheered however when the door swung open after many seconds and none other than a dazed Irie Shouichi came stumbling out.

Kikyo watched once more and prepared another attack, stopping however when a rumble was heard in the distance.

The picture on the monitor changed to Tsuna once more. Everyone saw the destruction that littered around the teen.

"That level of destruction," Basil said, "That could only be..."

"X-Burner," Reborn finished for him, "He blew up the whole illusion space, successfully freeing himself. Well done, Dame-Tsuna."

Tsuna flew into the sky, heading at top speed for Irie's location.

"Tsunayoshi-kun," Irie muttered weakly into the communication device, "Go defeat the target..."

"No," Tsuna said, going even faster, "I will not abandon a friend."

Ed smirked to himself as he listened to his student, "I'm glad you have your morals straight... Giotto would be proud to hear you say that..." Luckily for Ed, no one heard that little statement.

Irie continued to stumble on, protesting weakly to Tsuna about how he should eliminate the target first. Tsuna increased his speed a little every time he heard Irie's protests, hoping he could get there in time.

Everyone grinned as Yamamoto broke through the barrier. Ed stopped however, when he noticed Kikyo preparing an attack. Without hesitation, Ed ran forward, coming up in front Kyoko and Haru, turning them away from the screen and standing in front of them protectively. He briefly whispered to Bianchi, "Cover their ears."

She nodded, not hesitating to do so. After this happened, Irie's strangled scream rang through their ears and everyone watched intently as a cloud flame shot through him, sending him crashing to the pavement below.

Tsuna appeared on the screen, "Shouichi-kun!" He yelled, looking at his friend in horror. Quickly, he turned around and appeared swiftly in front of Kikyo who blocked his angry attack.

"It's no use to fight now."

Tsuna gritted his teeth before turning around and running back to Shouichi only to be halted by one of the Cervello, "Please wait, I must inspect the target flame first."

Tsuna gritted his teeth and flew back down to the ground, watching as she inspected the target on Shouichi's chest.

"I defeated their target as well," Yamamoto reported over the communication device.

"I admit, baseball idiot did do a good job in defeating their target," A voice said.

Tsuna turned around and watched as Gokudera walked up to him, "Juudaime, I'm sorry, I was supposed to protect them."

"That's okay, Gokudera-kun," Tsuna said, looking at his storm guardian, "I'm glad you're okay."

"You should be more worried about Irie, though," Gokudera said.

They turned around as the Cervello spoke up, "The target flame goes out when the life force drops below two percent. Irie's is below two percent and still dropping."

The other Cervello, speaking over a communication device, spoke up, "I've confirmed Daisy's target flame was successfully extinguished."

"Shouichi-kun," Tsuna said quietly, "Please don't die."

Kikyo, standing farther away, smirked, "I guess we are in a good situation, boss."

Byakuran smirked to himself from the viewing station, watching with amusement as Daisy's flame relit itself and the target stood up once more.

"Again... I can't die again?" Daisy questioned, looking at the flame.

"What?" Yamamoto asked in disbelief, "I extinguished the flame."

"What?" Tsuna questioned as well, "His flame relit?"

"You see, Daisy is a man that has the strangest habit of not dying," Kikyo explained.

"You mean he's immortal?" Gokudera gaped in disbelief.

"Like Edward-sensei," Tsuna said in disbelief.

Everyone in the Vongola viewing area watched in disbelief (Kyoko and Haru had turned back around, Ed just didn't want to see Irie supposedly get killed, it would shatter what innocence they have left)

"Seems like Mr. Elric isn't the only one like that on the playing field," Reborn said, turning to face the golden haired immortal.

"What?" Haru questioned, facing the immortal in question.

"You're immortal?" Kyoko asked as well, facing her teacher.

Ed looked at them and shrugged innocently, "Cat's out of the bag, huh?"

"W-what?" Kyoko and Haru said in unison, "B-but how?"

Ed just waved his hand in a dismissing manner before turning back to the screen.

"In that case, we have a winner," The Cervello said in unison, "Is the Millefiore family!

* * *

><p>Ed watched the screen as Tsuna pleaded for Irie to not die. The match had been over for a while and the communications had just been restored. Everyone set out and ran to where Irie was located.<p>

They soon reached the place where Irie lay upon the street, telling Tsuna and Gokudera about the future and how Byakuran came to power. Ed looked over to Reborn who hopped over and stood beside Tsuna, taking off where they had left off, "Parallel worlds."

Ed's eyes widened and he stood frozen in place. He looked down at the street, all of the others' conversation flying over his head, him not bothering to pay any attention to it. That one term repeated itself over and over in his head as if to mock him. Parallel worlds. He hadn't heard that term spoken to him in an in-depth conversation since he talked to Fritz Lang over four hundred years ago during the 'Shamballa' incident. Another bit of the conversation caught his attention. Byakuran had knowledge of all of the parallel worlds. Ed's eyes got even wider at that. Could another Byakuran possibly have gone into the past in a parallel world, in Amestris, and have met Ed at some point? The idea was farfetched and all, but it was something.

"Parallel worlds," Ed heard someone say, "That's impossible isn't it?"

"It's not impossible," Ed said, but snapped his mouth shut after he realized he responded aloud instead of in his head.

Everyone turned to him, "What?"

Ed looked away and muttered a 'nothing'. Everyone looked at him strangely before turning back to Irie who explained that the only world that hadn't been ruined by Byakuran was this one.

Ed paled at the thought. His world, Amestris, was like those horrible futures... in ruins, in wars? He thought about all the descendants of the people he loved. General Bastard's descendants, Rose's descendants, maybe Winry's descendants... could be fighting in a war? Or worse, part of the Millefiore? Ed's face was white as a sheet at the thought. It tore him up from the inside out. Sure, maybe he wasn't part of that world anymore, but it was once his home and that wouldn't change.

Ed barely listened to the conversation, his own thoughts swirling around his head. Nothing really surprised him anymore, he didn't look up even when Yuni, the black spell boss, showed up.

"Oh, Yuni-chan is all better," Byakuran said, "That's a surprise."

"Byakuran, you may have thought you broke my emotions, but my soul was in a faraway place, still intact."

"A faraway place?" Byakuran asked in confusion.

"It appears I can also travel to different worlds as you can," Yuni said.

Byakuran looked up in shock, but then grinned, "Oh, so there's three people who can travel to different worlds here today? How interesting."

"T-T-Three?" Tsuna asked in confusion, "But there's only two!"

"Oh? So Fullmetal-kun hasn't told you his greatest secret yet?" Byakuran asked, staring at said blonde, "I guess he's always been a secretive one. Not even giving the people he's fighting for the world with the whole story, huh, Fullmetal-kun?"

Ed's gaze shot up once more, staring intently at Byakuran, "W-what? How do you know... about Amestris?"

"Edward-sensei?" Tsuna asked.

"So you haven't told them?" Byakuran said, laughing slightly, "That's rich!"

Ed gritted his teeth and looked away.

"Anyway, Yuni-chan... I'm number one in this. You're number two," Byakuran said, "I get the final decision."

"In that case, I'm withdrawing from the Millefiore," Yuni said, turning to the Vongola group, "Sawada Tsunayoshi-san, I have a favor to ask. Please protect me and the pacifiers of my comrades."

Yuni held up the colorless pacifiers of the dead Arcobaleno.

"Now, Yuni-chan, those are my possessions," Byakuran said.

"No they are not," Yuni said, "If they were, it would not be the trinesette policy. The arcobalenos watch over the pacifiers, and the Vongola the Vongola rings. And besides, soulless pacifiers would never reveal the meanings of their existence in your care, as they were entrusted to me." The pacifiers began to glow brightly, outshining even the sun.

"I see, so that's how it is. Yuni-chan, I definitely need you now," Byakuran said, walking closer to Yuni, "Come, let's make up, Yuni-chan."

"Stay away!" Yuni demanded, taking a step back and causing the pacifiers to lose their shine, "We can no longer leave our souls with you!"

"What kind of nonsense are you saying? If you're going to take that and run, I'll chase you to the end of the earth and bring it back," Byakuran said, continuing to advance, "Now, come back to me. Here."

Byakuran continued to make an advance on Yuni, who continued to back away. As he got closer and closer, the sound of a gunshot echoed. As the shock settled in, everyone fully took in the situation. They saw Reborn's gun smoking and Byakuran holding his sleeve with the hole in it near his face.

"Reborn!" Tsuna said in shock.

"Uncle!" Yuni cried, running over to stand behind him.

Reborn used the gun to tilt his fedora up, "Byakuran, I don't give a damn who you are, but when you attempt to hurt the boss of the Arcobaleno, I won't stay quiet."

"WHAT!" Tsuna yelled, "She's the boss of the Arcobaleno!"

"Byakuran-sama," Kikyo said, "We will soon bring Yuni-sama back."

After saying that, Kikyo, Zakuro, and Torikabuto who were standing behind Byakuran rose up to the sky. Kikyo raised his hand and quickly unleashed an attack aimed at the Vongola, which was blocked by Squalo, a cloud of dust soon obscuring their vision. When the cloud of dust disappeared, everyone could see Squalo and Hibari in the front weapons raised.

"Wait a second, Kikyo-chan," Byakuran said, "Yuni-chan must be upset after waking up from her long sleep."

"Yes, Byakuran-sama," Kikyo said, lowering his hand.

"Then, how about this Yuni-chan," Byakuran said, "I worked very hard to earn the trinesette policy that I was supposed to earn after winning Choice. But if you return to the Millefiore, I'm willing to return the Vongola rings to the Vongola family."

Everyone gaped at Byakuran, "But, B-Byakuran really wanted the Vongola rings, I thought..." Tsuna said.

'Right now, it's Yuni,' Byakuran thought to himself, 'I want Yuni now that her soul is back. The rings can come later.'

Irie looked at Byakuran warily and thought, 'What's going on, Byakuran's been acting differently ever since the pacifiers glowed.'

"Byakuran, I know why you want me," Yuni said, "And that's why I can never return to you."

"Then the Vongola rings belong to us," Byakuran said, his eyes narrowing, "I have no intention to hand a strong weapon to the one's protecting you. Although your prince on a white horse seems terrified by your request."

"Ehhh?" Tsuna yelled.

"The Vongola rings do not belong to you Byakuran!" Yuni said, "I will say it again, the pacifiers belong to the Arcobaleno and the Vongola rings belong to the Vongola family! That is fact, yet you forced a match of Choice and named the Trinesette as the prize so you could quickly get your hands on it! As I am the sky Arcobaleno, and therefore a member of the trinesette, I find your battle of Choice, invalid!"

"Invalid?" Tsuna questioned.

"Meaning?" Yamamoto and Gokudera asked at once.

"What does that mean?" Ryohei asked as well.

"You don't need to hand over the Vongola rings," Yuni answered.

Byakuran began to laugh loudly, brushing his bangs out of his eyes, "The Sky Arcobaleno certainly holds a lot of authority over the use of the Trinesette Policy, but you don't want to anger me. Do you not care what happens to the remaining Black Spell members after their boss, Yuni-chan, betrays me?"

Yuni frowned slightly, the members of Black spell briefly crossing her mind.

"Well, they're completely devoted to you," Byakuran said once more, "So they'll probably enjoy being tortured for your sake."

"What?" Tsuna demanded, "You're using them as hostages!"

"They'll understand," Yuni said, looking into the eyes of Byakuran with determination, "They all understand."

"But that means," Tsuna looked at her in shock, "You're willing to let your friends die?"

"The rest is up to you, Tsuna," Reborn said, looking up to Tsuna, "Yuni asked you to protect her, what will you do?"

"But, her friends will-" He stopped in shock however when he looked at Yuni, and saw that she had made up her mind.

"Yuni-chan, your prince on a white horse doesn't seem that reliable," Byakuran said, advancing once more, "Come with me, I'm still willing to forgive you-"

Everyone looked in shock when a hand reached out and grabbed Yuni's arm, "Come with us! Join us! Everyone, we're going to protect her!" Tsuna yelled, causing joyful tears to come to Yuni's eyes.

Everyone said 'yes' quickly and Yuni looked at them, "Thank you very much!"

"Idjit! I won't let that happen," Zakuro sneered.

"Byakuran-sama," Kikyo said, "please give us permission to take back Yuni-sama!"

"Sure," Byakuran said, smirking slightly.

"Time for destruction," Torikabuto said, floating slowly down to them.

A large range of explosives was fired and when the smoke cleared, everyone could see Squalo riding up to them on his shark box weapon, "VOI! That's more like it!"

"Squalo!" Tsuna yelled.

"He's going to buy us time," Dino said, brandishing his whip, "Tsuna, we should fall back and re-group!"

"Fall back? But we're surrounded by buildings!" Tsuna said in a panicking manner.

"In that case, the flame ring teleportation system which brought you hear should be nearby," Yuni said.

"Ehh? The thing that warped us here from Namimori?" Tsuna questioned.

"It's true," Spanner said, leaning onto Yamamoto for support, "I'm getting a metallic reading from above Vongola HQ!"

"If we use that, we should be able to get back to Namimori," Reborn confirmed.

"Or at least away from here," Ed added.

"I won't let that happen," Kikyo said, launching more of his vines in their direction.

Everyone flinched away preparing for impact, but looked up when nothing hit, "Sistema C.A.I. I'm going to stop you this time!" Gokudera yelled, "Juudaime, use this chance to head for the teleportation system!"

"Got it! Sorry, Gokudera-kun," Tsuna yelled, "Let's go, Everyone!"

Kikyo began to go after them, but was halted by Squalo, "I ain't gonna let that happen!"

The group continued to run away, but Basil and Ryohei who were supporting Irie kept falling back, "This isn't good!"

They looked over their shoulder and saw Torikabuto approaching fast, only to be blocked by a blast of storm flames, "I told you, I'm not gonna' let you past me this time!"

The group continued to run, soon reaching the Vongola choice base. They quickly found a gurney and placed the injured Irie upon it, wheeling him inside quickly, "All non-combatants get inside quickly as well as Arcobaleno! There is a non-trinisette barrier where you will be safe inside!" Spanner said.

The non-combatants quickly got inside as well as Bianchi. The others stood outside and watched as Squalo, Gokudera, and Hibari appeared riding on Squalo's shark.

"Quickly, shoot your flames into the transportation system, there's no time!" Ed said, his flame lighting on his head. A spear rose from the ground and Edward quickly grabbed it, spinning it expertly in his hands.

Everyone looked alarmed, however, when Byakuran approached, "Hurry up Tsunayoshi-kun!" Ed said walking forward.

"Ed-san, please step back, I'll hold him off," Dino said, brandishing his whip.

'Isn't this guy totally useless without his subordinates, though?' Ed thought to himself.

"Dino-san! You'll be left behind!"

"Someone has to do it!" Dino replied.

Tsuna panicked as he didn't want to leave Dino behind. He turned around however when a weird sensation hit the back of his mind. He was alarmed as he saw none other than Rokudo Mukuro standing in front of Chrome, wielding his trident.

Byakuran's eyes widened briefly before his smirk returned.

Mukuro stepped forward and blocked Byakuran with his staff. His eyes glinted dangerously and his demon eye changed to path one. Byakuran looked down as the ground began to crack below him, soon erupting in a geyser of magma.

Tsuna gaped at the illusion, but grew even more alarmed when Byakuran stood tall, unfazed by the large eruption of magma around him. He smirked when Mukuro cast more illusions, adding more erupting magma geysers as well as wrapping Byakuran's body in plants.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi," Mukuro said as Byakuran broke free from the illusions, thrusting his hand through the fake Mist guardians chest, "Make sure Byakuran doesn't get the Sky Arcobaleno, protect her with your life."

"Great speech, Rokudo Mukuro," Byakuran said, "How 'bout you come here in person and we can resume this fight."

Mist flames began to float off of Mukuro's form, causing Edward to take action, "Tsunayoshi-kun! I would strongly advise you start unleashing your flames right about now! I would do it, but I don't have normal attribute flames!"

Tsuna looked at Ed before briefly nodding. He lit his flame along with everyone else and they quickly sent the rainbow of flames up into the sky. Soon, the Vongola group disappeared, leaving behind an illusion of Mukuro and a group of angry Millefiore members.

* * *

><p>After being transported back to Namimori and getting back to Vongola HQ safely, only without Hibari, Kusakabe, and Dino who left and went somewhere else, the group finally had time for a breather.<p>

They sat in the dining hall with which they hosted many welcome parties, and relaxed a little bit to re-establish their energy.

That was when the whole 'there's three people who can travel through parallel worlds' thing came up.

"Edward-sensei," Tsuna asked as the group sat waiting for an answer, even Haru and Kyoko were there, having heard the whole thing, "What did Byakuran mean by you traveling between parallel worlds?"

"Well..." Ed said, looking around nervously.

"Don't try to dodge the question, Mr. Elric, as everyone in this room is eager to find out the truth," Reborn said, staring at the alchemist.

"Yes," Kyoko said, "Haru and I would like to know as well."

"It's a really long story," Ed said.

"We've got time, after all, we need to rest for a few moments," Reborn said, a hint of something dangerous in his voice, "We would really like to know."

Ed gulped a bit before starting his story. Here goes nothing, time to say everything, "Well, I already told you all that I'm immortal, but I never really told you why. As Byakuran told you, I am from a different world. In that world, alchemy, which is nothing more than an ancient science in this world, developed more than science and something like the industrial revolution never occurred. I mean we had trains and automobiles, but it probably would never advance further than the basic designs as we really only needed alchemy to create things.

"Now that I've got that out of the way, I'll tell you my story. When my little brother and I were really young, only around five or so years old, our father left us and the only person that really knew anything close to a reason was our mother. We began to learn alchemy at that young age and became pretty good. We only did it because it would make our mom smile. After that, she had an illness my brother and I had no clue about and we came home one day and found her collapsed on the floor. She was sick with worry and the illness, so we looked through our dad's notes and found letters he had written her and we desperately tried to contact him and bring him home before she died. We had no such luck as she died later on. At her funeral, we were the last to leave her grave and that was when I came up with the idea to try and bring her back to life.

"We soon found an alchemy teacher by the name of Izumi Curtis and we trained under her for two years before returning home. She put my brother and I through hell, leaving us on an uninhabited island for a month with only a knife and a riddle we had to solve. When we returned home, we buried ourselves in alchemy books and soon I came up with a theory for human transmutation, the ultimate taboo in alchemy as no one had successfully done one and the price was too high for any human to pay, but I foolishly thought that our plan was perfect. Ignoring my brother's warnings about how we shouldn't do it, we waited for one night and gathered everything that was needed.

"Water, 35 liters. Carbon, 20kg. Ammonia, 4 litres. Lime, 1.5kg. Phosphorus, 800g. Salt, 250g. Niter, 100g. Sulphur, 80g. Fluorine, 7.5G. Iron, 5g. Silicon, 3g. And traces of fifteen other elements. Those are the elements that make up an average adult human body. You can buy these elemental ingredients at the market with a child's allowance. Humans can be built on the cheap. We gathered these items and put them in a bin in the center of an elaborate transmutation circle in our basement. We still needed material for the soul and we foolishly thought a few drops of our blood would be enough. We activated the circle feeling on top of the world, happy we would see our mom again. The transmutation was a beautiful shade of gold at first, but soon turned a sickening purple. Little, black hands wrapped up around my brother and I. I heard Al's screams and reached for him, but it was no use, my little brother disappeared before my eyes and I soon found myself in a white expanse.

"I thought I was dead, that was until I saw the gate. Its large doors swung open revealing thousands of pairs of eyes staring right at me. Then, the black arms flew out and grabbed me, pulling me into its murky blackness. I felt like I would die because I suddenly found all the information of the world being poured into my brain. I felt like my head would explode. But then I saw it, I saw what appeared to be my mother, but before I could reach her, I felt a searing pain in my leg. I found myself once more in my basement, and I looked down at my left leg and what I saw horrified me. A puddle of blood surrounded what was left of my leg. The gate had taken my left leg from the knee down. I looked at what was supposed to be my mother, but all I saw was a mass of bloodied skin, glowing eyes,with ribs and organs outside of its body. When it reached for me, muttering my name, I screamed as loud as I could and then, shakily breathing, it died. I soon pushed over the vintage armor my father had collected and as a last ditch method, I wrote a symbol inside with my blood. I did another transmutation and when I regained consciousness once more, I saw that the gate had claimed all of my right arm, but I had succeeded."

"What did you do?" Reborn was one of the only ones capable of speaking.

"I bonded my brother's soul to the suit of armor. I begged my brother to not look at what we had created. He picked me up and wrapped loose bandages onto my wounds and carried me to our friends', the Rockbell's, house. He burst through the door and begged them to save me as they were automail engineers. They accepted and we spent all of our money that our mother had left us on the fake limbs. The normal recovery rate is a couple years, but I did it in one year. In that time period, a Colonel by the name of Roy Mustang from the military came to their house and saw me. He knew about my transmutation and he was the one who snapped me out of my depression. He was also the one who told me about becoming a state alchemist. After I got automail, I set out to become a state alchemist. Because of the gate, I also learned the truth and was able to perform alchemy without a transmutation circle. I ended up becoming a state alchemist and was then known as the fullmetal alchemist as well as the youngest state alchemist ever as I was only twelve. I also received the silver pocket-watch that you all see me with often as proof that I was a certified state alchemist.

"Well, my brother and I began to search for something known as the Philosopher's stone which was said to be able to bypass the laws of Equivalent exchange."

"Equivalent exchange?" Tsuna repeated, "Isn't that what you told me about when you found me after I left the group for a while?"

Ed nodded briefly before continuing, "The law dictates that humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's First law of Equivalent Exchange. We learned many things in searching for the stone, I even destroyed a religion along the way. I also learned that the philosopher's stone was created by sacrificing human lives. After all that, we got in trouble with these beings known as the Homunculi. They were false humans, humanoid dolls without souls created through human transmutation, and they were named after the seven deadly sins. After getting in a fight with them, our close friend Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes began to investigate them, although he got killed in the end because of it. Later than that, in a place called Lior, the place where I destroyed the religion, began to have outbreaks with Riots and such. I end up going to investigate along with my brother and end up fighting a man named Scar who was responsible for killing multiple state alchemists.

"In the end, we were stopped by the Homunculi Lust and Gluttony. I ended up helping the refugees of Lior escape, my brother staying behind to fight Kimblee, an evil guy working for the military, not going into details. Kimblee ends up turning my brother into a ticking time bomb right before Kimblee dies, and the only person who can save him is Scar who performs a transmutation, offering up all the soldiers souls to turn my brother into a living philosopher's stone.

"Later, my father, Hohenheim, who resurfaced, goes to fight the leader of the Homunculi, Dante. While all this is happening, my brother, Wrath another homunculus, and I go to a factory where Al and I are confronted by the Homunculus we created that is the spitting image of our mother. She, known as Sloth, attempts to kill us, trying to prove to herself that the memories of our mom that were plaguing her were not her own. In the end, I kill her and Al is soon captured, causing me to follow him far below the ground where Dante's hideout is, but beforehand, saying goodbye to Mustang who was going to confront our Fuhrer, who was also the homunculus pride.

"I end up going to the underground city and confronting Dante who plans to live longer by invading Rose's body by using the philosopher's stone planted in my brother. So I can't interfere, she sends me through the gate into this world, where I go into the me in this world's body, finding my father there as well as he was apparently sent through the gate too. We are forced to run as bombs are raining down on London in World War I, he then realizes that it's the me from Amestris talking to him and he proceeds to tell me that our alchemy was powered by the lives of the people on this side. After being crushed and on the brink of death, I open the gate within myself and return to my own world where I attempt to fight Dante. She however sends Envy to attack me. After I have him pinned, he reveals to me that he was in fact Hohenheim's other son, I stopped out of shock and he ends up stabbing me through the chest, effectively killing me. That's where the scar comes from that you saw, Tsuna.

"My brother however, offers his life up in exchange for mine and I wake up once more, alive and with all of my limbs. I then offer up my life as payment and bring him back as well, only with him having no memories of his time in the armor. I then wake up in Munich, Germany with my automail and a few years before World War II occurs. After a few years, I was still trying to find a way to return to Amestris, never really knowing at all if my brother or the General was alive and the same goes for them. I had become a rocket scientist in this world at first and even ended up meeting Al's counterpart in this world named Alfons Heiderich. We go to a fair and end up hitching a ride with a group of gypsies and meeting one named Noah who could read minds by contact.

"Noah ends up getting sold and I rescue her, Alfons and I taking her in to live in his house where I lived as well. I end up making the discovery about the Thule society who were a pro-nazi secret organization who actually hired Alfons' and his friends' to construct Rockets. The Thule society was attempting to open up a pathway to Shamballa which in fact was my world known as Amestris. They ended up sending a bunch of armored soldiers over, which were quickly batted away by Alphonse. I met a Jewish director known as Fritz Lang who, after I attacked his driver because of how Fritz looked like a homunculus, told me to be his temporary driver.

"We ended up going to an old castle where a dragon was rumored to be. We found it eventually and it actually turned out to be Envy. After fighting for a while, the Thule society showed up and captured him, taking him away. I saw one of the members and soon learned he was a professor at a university. After learning more information, I broke into his private villa and soon found a large, worn down transmutation circle inside. After fixing it up, I wiped my cheek with my glove, getting blood on it by accident as I had cut my cheek on a bit of glass, and placed my hands on the circle, startling myself when it actually worked. That was when the Thule society showed up once more and went all trigger happy after the men in armor returned, all of them dead. I dove into the mass of bodies for cover, coincidentally finding my brother who had transmuted part of his soul into one of them. We then ran off and I was happy knowing that my brother was safe.

"After a whole bunch of other stuff, Noah ends up stealing some of my memories and helping the Thule society with some of my knowledge of alchemy. After breaking in a second time, I fall down, only to see that when I tried to stop them, they had captured my father. He was trapped in Envy's jaws and he told me to give Al his regards before causing Envy to bite down and kill him, activating the transmutation circle. I couldn't help but fall to my knees as my father's blood fell down like rain. Then Eckhart, the boss of the organization, shot my arm and I fell. When I regained consciousness, I found myself strapped into a rocket. Alfons soon sent me off and through the opened gate.

"Once back in Amestris, I did a crash landing and Winry who just happened to be their fixed up my automail and I went off to kick some German butt. After reuniting with my brother, we went up to Eckhart's main rocket where we confronted her in battle with the help of Roy who had apparently lost one of his eyes. We fight her and win and I send my brother and the General back to the surface so they can destroy the gate which Al had opened on that side while I return to this world and destroyed this gate.

"After returning to this world, a deformed and monstrous Eckhart stumbles out of the plane demanding to go back only to get shot by this world's Hughes counterpart. I wander out as well, letting the armor out of the plane only to hear my brother's voice from one of the suits. And to my surprise, none other than Alphonse pops out and he tells me Roy had gone to destroy Amestris' gate and that Al had come to help me destroy this one. He also told me he had regained his memories. We end up destroying the gate and I find that for helping me, Alfons had gotten shot and had died as well. After his funeral, my brother and I set out to find the uranium bomb which had been brought over, during that time we searched for the bomb, I also came upon the realization I had turned immortal after returning to this world through the gate for some reason. Oh, I also forgot to mention my dad was over 400 years old as well. The end."

Ed looked around at all the surprised faces and sweat dropped, "You do know that that story was the simplified version... right?"

* * *

><p><strong>LunarFallenStar: Hey guys! Long chapter, huh? Well, R&amp;R everyone and stay tuned for the next chapter.<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

**LunarFallenStar: Hey guys! How's it going! Well, here's the newest chapter and I hope you all like it! And everyone, thanks again for reading and reviewing! This chapter is shorter than usual and also thanks for 50+ reviews as of this chapters release! I'm glad you all like it!**

**SunshineAndMoonlight: Thanks for the review and yes it's the first FMA anime, not brotherhood. And dang it! I was so close to guessing the right anime with your avatar picture! Well, anyway, I checked out Kobato, the manga, and so far it's really cool!**

**Archsage328: Awww, thank you SO much! I honestly was worried that it wouldn't be too good. I thought it wasn't that good... Well, again thanks and if only automail was real, or more common, I had a perfect space on my shelf. Thanks for the review and READ ON~!**

**A Natsume Yuujinchou lover: You didn't watch the Fullmetal Alchemist movie? You should, it makes the ending of the first anime more bearable, but I agree with you. I like Brotherhood a lot better as it's happier. And no, I haven't read the light novels, but I'm going to.**

**Phantom Hitman 1412: Thanks for the kind review and thanks for the congrats. I'm glad you liked everything so read on!**

**HebaAce: I'm glad you liked it and that you were pleasantly surprised with my story. Thanks for reading and the review!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~Previously~<strong>_

_**Ed looked around at all the surprised faces and sweat dropped, "You do know that that story was the simplified version... right?"**_

* * *

><p>It was the next day, and Reborn had ordered everyone to go to where Irie had moved the machine. Ed sighed in exasperation. Ever since he told them his story things had been a little strange. Any conversations he had with any of the teens would just be strange with all of them treating him differently in some way. He sighed to himself, running his hand through his long, golden hair.<p>

Ed grabbed a random black t-shirt and threw it on, grabbing a pair of grey jeans to match. He slipped into his boots and grabbed his long, red coat which he just tied around his waist, causing the jacket to go down to his ankles (It was a little smaller than the one he wore in Amestris and he was also taller). He slipped his ring on and quickly put up his hair in a braid. Checking to make sure that he had his travel journal with him. All ready, he walked out of his room, not even bothering to put the skin covering over his automail as everyone knew now.

Ed soon met up with Tsuna and the others and began to head out to the relocated machine.

* * *

><p>They all arrived and saw Spanner busy typing away at the large computer in front of him, Irie's machine located above him as well. Spanner soon noticed their presence and turned around, clicking the lollipop in his mouth against his teeth as he prepared to speak, "You're here, good. I'll send you to the past right away."<p>

"But Reborn isn't here yet!" Tsuna began to protest, only to be stopped as a strange feeling over took his senses. He looked around, noticing everyone was glowing. He then realized the process of returning to the past had already begun. His thoughts returned to Reborn, but he was halted once more as he lost his grip on the future time plain and everything went dark.

As Tsuna's senses returned, he fully realized that they were already in the past. He looked around, fully registering his surroundings, "Namimori shrine?"

"Hm, so this is where we ended up returning, I guess it makes sense though," Ed said, "When we went back for Choice we headed back here."

"Ciaossu!" A high-pitched voice sounded.

Stop playing coy and tell us who the tutors are!" Tsuna demanded.

A rustling in the bushes caught everyone's attention and Hibari, tonfas raised, went to attack- I mean, investigate the situation.

Everyone watched as the rain arcobaleno, Colonello, popped out of the bushes. His arms crossed and voice indignant, he spoke, "I came all the way out here again and this is how you greet me?"

Colonello landed on the ground in front of the tenth generation family and turned to face the horizon when another voice was heard, "I'm here too!"

Everyone looked as another Arcobaleno, the one of cloud, landed on the ground by Colonello.

"If you all remember correctly, this is skull, my lackey," Reborn said, his ever-present smirk adorned his face.

"I'm not your lackey!" Skull yelled in annoyance, waving his fist.

"My, my," Yet another voice was heard, "Calling me out here without pay again. Really, this is getting old fast."

They watched as Mist-class flames collected and dispersed, revealing Mammon, the Arcobaleno of mist.

"Now, now, don't be like that," The flame Arcobaleno, Fon, said calmly as he approached.

"Master!" I-pin said happily.

"I didn't expect to see you again so soon, I-pin," Fon replied, smiling softly.

"So soon?" Tsuna questioned quietly to Reborn.

"You completed the Arcobaleno trials yesterday," Reborn replied, "I came here early to assemble everyone."

"Everyone..." Tsuna mimed, "W-wait! That means you asked Verde as well?"

"I informed Verde," Reborn replied, "We haven't seen him, but he is probably somewhere watching us."

"Is Aria-san also coming, then?" Tsuna asked.

"Not this time," Reborn replied.

"Lambo-san is bored!" Lambo started flailing around in Kyoko's arms, "Lambo-san wants to play!"

"Shut up stupid cow!" Gokudera yelled in response, "We have business to take care of!"

"But," Tsuna began, earning everyone's attention, "What exactly are we doing?"

"No idea," Reborn responded, "But we'll be attempting to perform a dangerous miracle that's never been done before in Vongola history! An all-or-nothing bet. If it fails we're done."

"Geez, stop playing coy and tell us," Tsuna demanded again.

"The outcome is all on you guys. Be strong and don't get scared," Reborn said, "Bring out your ring, Tsuna."

Tsuna gave a quizzical look, but obliged and held up his hand. Standing a few paces behind them was Yuni, who raised her hands in what seemed to be a prayer, and she thought to herself, 'Will of the ring, please lend your power to these in dire straits. If you are willing to grant this wish, I will...'

Her thoughts drifted off and without warning, the pacifiers began to glow along with Tsuna's ring.

Tsuna stared at the ring in disbelief, "I didn't do anything..."

Everyone watched with baited breath as a beam of sky flames shot from the ring and up ahead of them, soon turning into a controlled inferno. When the inferno ceased, a figure of a person was soon seen.

After everyone continued to stare, Ed was the first one to speak, "G-G-Giotto..."

Giotto looked over at Ed and looked surprised for a moment, but that melted away and was replaced with a soft smile of both happiness and sadness, "Ed, it's good to see you again, but I guess that means your still alive..."

Ed smiled softly at Giotto, sadness also evident in his smile as well, "Good to see you too, and yep, I'm still alive. I guess this is divine punishment for those who commit the ultimate sin."

Giotto's gaze remained soft, but it hardened slightly when his attention returned to the other members of the group.

"You're..." Tsuna gasped.

"It worked, but I never thought I would get to see the real thing," Reborn said, "Allow me to introduce this person. He's Vongola I, Vongola Primo."

"We meet again, Vongola Decimo," Giotto said, "You are in a time of great peril it appears."

"Wow... He talked," Yamamoto said.

"Is he a ghost?" Ryohei asked.

"A supernatural occurrence..." Gokudera said wistfully.

"You all haven't unlocked the true power of the Vongola rings yet," Giotto said, "You will be tested by the first generation to see if you are worthy of such power."

"What will we be tested over?" Tsuna asked.

"You must show yourselves worthy to be guardians," Giotto replied, "It all depends on that. I bid you farewell tenth generation, Ed."

Ed looked at his close friend and smiled, "See you around, say hi to the others for me."

Giotto nodded, smiling softly before disappearing.

"H-He disappeared," Yamamoto gasped in disbelief.

"Yes, but he'll be back," Reborn said, "That's why you will all have tutors so that you are prepared for the trials. The storm guardian Gokudera will get the storm Arcobaleno Fon. The cloud guardian Hibari will get the cloud Arcobaleno Skull. The mist guardian Chrome will get the mist Arcobaleno Mammon. The rain guardian Yamamoto will get the rain Arcobaleno Colonello. The sun guardian Ryohei will get the sun Arcobaleno, me, Reborn. The lightning guardian Lambo will get the lighting Arcobaleno Verde."

Tsuna looked back at the smiling Yuni, 'Does that mean Yuni will be my tutor?' He thought to himself.

"All of you will be tested, but Tsuna will most likely be last," Reborn said, "The first generation guardians will all appear before you some time tonight so be prepared."

"Well, bye now," Ed said, walking away, "I'm tired. I'm gonna go take a nap at my house. I've had enough excitement. Tell me when the first trial is and I'll be there."

Everyone watched the retreating back of Edward for a moment, "Ok, that is all. You can all go home if you wish," Reborn said.


	13. Chapter 13

**LunarFallenStar: Hey guys~! Here's the new chapter! I'll try to make it longer this time. Thanks for all of the reviews and most importantly, thanks for reading this story! Glad you like it!  
><strong>

**Phantom Hitman 1412: Oh, don't worry about what you said. In honesty, I'm grateful because I was worried about getting Ed to involved and interfering, but because of what you said, I'm not worried at all. Thanks! And don't worry, Ed will have a larger part and get back as the main character. Again, thanks for your words! And you never know, Ed will most likely be greatly involved in the fight with Byakuran.**

**Archsage328: I agree with you about Hibari's and Ryohei's, but I've always favored Gokudera's trial just because of the impact it leaves. That's just my opinion. **

**SunshineAndMoonlight: Yep, Giotto knows of Ed's true past. Oh and with Kobato, I'm not done yet, but I have been reading it and I enjoy it a lot!**

**HebaAce: I'm glad you liked this chapter and you will most definitely see more of Ed's and Giotto's friendship. Rest assured.**

**Rion: Thanks for the review and I'm glad you liked it! And I've been rereading my chapters and I've seen some of my mistakes and I just feel like slapping myself. I can't believe I made some of them. I plan on fixing them later when I have some more extra time. And you will see how Byak recognizes Ed soon, so stay tuned!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~Previously~<strong>_

_**Everyone watched the retreating back of Edward for a moment, "Ok, that is all. You can all go home if you wish," Reborn said.**_

* * *

><p>Ed was out on the small balcony of his home, sighing in exasperation. He held up his hand to the sky, thin rays of moonlight glinting against the polished metal of his automail. He was worried about his students. Since he was technically part of the first generation, he couldn't really interfere, but he was also part of the tenth generation. He gripped his head with his hands and let out yet another sigh.<p>

"I'm so confused!" He growled out as he ruffled his golden hair. He slid open the door, letting it crack against the opposing surface. He stormed inside his house, closing the door behind him. He looked at his bag sitting in the chair by his desk.

"Going back to teaching school," Ed said, "Maybe I can keep up some of my normal life."

Ed smiled, slowly taking his hair out of his braid and climbing into bed.

* * *

><p>Ed woke up the next day, excited to be teaching a class again. Ed quickly slipped on a red shirt and a black vest, also pulling on black pants and his usual combat boots.<p>

He rushed down the stairs and into his kitchen, quickly pulling out the simple ingredients he would need to prepare a simple bento and breakfast. A few minutes later, he had finished preparing both and was halfway through with breakfast. Looking at the clock, he shoved the rest of the food into his mouth and headed out the door. He stopped outside at the gate dead in his tracks however, when he felt loose hair strands blowing into his face. He blinked a few times, before lifting his hand and feeling his hair, discovering he had forgotten to put it into a braid.

Ed sighed before walking on, holding the bento in the crook of his left arm and his bag in his left hand. Using his right automail arm, which was covered in a flesh-like material, he reached into his pocket to pull out a hair tie. Expertly bunching his hair into one hand, he tied his hair into a loose ponytail. He would braid it once he got to school.

He stopped in his tracks when a small mewling noise caught his attention. He looked to his right and, to his surprise, saw a small kitten sitting in a box against a wall. He bent down and looked at the small cat before grinning widely, "You're cute now aren't you?"

Ed had grown to adore cats over the years due to his brother, despite his usual annoyance towards them. He inspected the kitten closely, looking at it's honey colored fur and warm chocolatey-golden eyes. He didn't see a collar at first and wondered briefly if it was a stray. Ed placed his bento and bag on the ground, picking up the small kitten. It could practically sit in one of his hands!

Sighing softly, he held the cat in his arms, "Guess I'm going to have to make some found cat posters, huh?"

He absent-mindedly picked up his bag and bento and once more began to walk towards school. He sighed as the cat began to bat its paws at some of Ed's golden hair that had worked its way out of the ponytail.

Ed reached Namimori Middle quickly and briskly walked inside, quickly finding his classroom. He made his way to his desk, placing his bag beside it and his bento in a drawer.

He once more stared at the small kitten he was holding, "What should I do with you?" Ed thought aloud for a moment before a sudden idea came to his mind. He closed his eyes, a familiar gray flame lighting his forehead. Softly, he sat the cat down atop the desk before kneeling down and tapping his hands to the floor directly underneath his desk. On cue, a small box rose up from the ground and Ed absentmindedly grabbed his jacket he had accidentally left in his desk before the whole future fiasco and laid it inside, forming a small, makeshift bed that was hidden from view.

Ed grabbed the kitten gently and placed the small creature into the bed. Smiling in satisfaction, Ed took his hair out of its ponytail and put it into a braid. Ed grabbed one of his lesson plans from his bag and opened it up. He grabbed a piece of chalking, twirling in his fingers as he read the page, humming a small tune.

The small cat looked up at him, but didn't move from its spot in the warm bed. It watched every little movement Ed made with fascination.

* * *

><p>A while later, Ed turned around when he heard a door slide open. Setting the chalk down onto the tray, he looked over at the clock and read the time. He soon realized school would be starting soon.<p>

Ed smiled softly as he saw who walked in. Tsuna, Gokudera, Yamamoto, and Kyoko stood near the doorway, just now arriving.

"Good morning," Ed said, "Glad you could make it today.

Tsuna smiled in response, "Good morning, Edward-sensei."

Gokudera grunted, muttering a small 'good morning' before going to his desk.

"Good morning, Edward-sensei," Kyoko said, taking a seat at her desk as well.

Yamamoto chuckled, "Ed-sensei, good morning!"

Ed laughed in response, but it was fake. To the normal observer, Yamamoto Takeshi appeared to be his usual self, but Ed wasn't exactly 'normal', now was he? Yamamoto seemed... off... today. His normally happy and cheerful brown eyes were full of conflicting feelings, sadness, and frustration. Ed's mind thought through multiple reasons, but Ed's mind centered on one. Choice. Yamamoto must still be blaming himself for Daisy reviving.

Ed walked up to Yamamoto, "Yamamoto-kun," Edward whispered so only Yamamoto could hear, "It's not your fault for what happened at choice. Daisy's immortal, so they say, but so am I. If you were ever assigned to kill me, the result would be the same. Stop beating yourself up over it... the rain is supposed to be the calm that washes away the sorrow, you won't pass the trial as a guardian if you forget your role as one."

Yamamoto stared in shock at the back of Edward who walked back to his desk. Still in a shocked state, Yamamoto stumbled over to his desk, sitting down.

Ed, completely unfazed, continued to look through his lesson plans for the day. More and more students filed into the classroom.

Ed smiled at his students and soon started the lesson. Ed smile grew wider and everyone thought it was because he was happy to see as more because he was just happy no one had discovered the small kitten sleeping peacefully under his desk.

* * *

><p>After school, Ed slowly gathered his things and organized everything, not really paying attention as the students filed out. He looked up in surprise when none other than Yamamoto walked up to his desk.<p>

"Ed-sensei," Yamamoto spoke up, "Can I ask you something?"

Ed smiled softly at his student, "Of course."

"I was just wondering..." Yamamoto trailed off, "How did you notice?"

Ed tilted his head to the side in confusion before finally realizing what the baseball player meant, "Oh, a long time ago, I did the same thing over and over again. Continuously blaming myself for things I couldn't have really changed anyway. I thought that if I had been more serious and watched the signs that were displayed before me more carefully, it would've never happened. I'd never felt so helpless before, especially when, even with all the strength I thought I possessed, I couldn't save a little girl. I fully realized that I wasn't a demon, nor a god at that... I realized I was just a human. A human that couldn't even save a little girl."

Yamamoto stared at Ed in dumbfounded shock. His shock only grew when Ed bent down and went under his desk, only to reappear with a small kitten in his arms. Ed picked up his bag and began to walk out of the classroom, the kitten resting comfortably in one of his hands. Ed looked over his shoulder slightly, making eye contact with the rain guardian, "You coming? You're friends are probably worried, they've been standing at the gates ever since you came up to talk to me."

Yamamoto briefly looked out the window long enough to see what Edward had said was true. He turned back around only to see his teacher leaving. He smiled a little before running to catch up with Ed.

* * *

><p>The small group walked through the streets. At first, everyone had been surprised when Ed showed up with a kitten sitting comfortably in his hands. After getting over their shock, the group began to walk home.<p>

"So, no one's been given a trial yet?" Tsuna questioned.

"No," Ryohei reported, "It's been EXTREMELY quiet!"

"We don't have a large amount of time," Gokudera said, "They can't keep us waiting forever."

"True, it would be unwise to keep you waiting for long," A voice called out in the relative silence.

Ed smirked at the voice and everyone except Ed stared in shock as a torrent of Rain flames appeared before them in a controlled inferno.

"He's here," Reborn said, causing everyone to turn and see some of the Arcobaleno behind them.

They turned back around and watched as the Rain flames took the form of a young man.

"Greetings, I am the first guardian of the Rain," Asari said.

"Asari," Edward spoke up, "Long time, no see."

Asari and turned and looked at Edward in shock, "E-Ed?"

"Why so surprised?" Ed asked, "I told Giotto to give you my regards."

"He didn't say anything," Asari replied.

"Giotto!" Ed growled out, "Still playing tricks, I see."

"He probably just wanted us to be surprised," Asari said, "I won't say anything either... furthermore, I thought you hated cats..."

Ed looked down at the small kitten in his hands, "Well, 400 years can really change someone," Ed said.

Asari nodded, "Hahaha, well, it's good to see you. Back to the matter at hand, Rain guardian, your trial will be today in the hour of the dog at Namimori shrine."

"That's eight o'clock, right?" Reborn questioned.

"Yes," Asari replied, "'Til then."

Everyone watched as the man disappeared in a swirl of Rain-class flames.

"Bah, Yamamoto's test is first!" Gokudera complained.

"Well, at least we don't have to worry," Ryohei spoke up, "Yamamoto, win, to the EXTREME!"

"Do your best, Yamamoto," Tsuna said.

Yamamoto nodded, smiling, "Yeah."

Ed smiled at the scene before heading to his house.

* * *

><p>Ed looked at the small kitten that was drinking out of the bowl of milk Ed had laid out for it.<p>

"What should I call you?" Ed wondered aloud, "I probably shouldn't make posters yet, just in case I get a trip to the future. That reminds me, I'll have to ask someone to take care of you... maybe Hana-san or another teacher..."

The cat continued to drink the milk, "Maybe I could call you Roy? Or maybe Al? Heck, I could even call you Havoc."

"How about Roy?" Ed asked again.

The cat looked up at him, making eye contact. Gold met gold. The cat mewled loudly and purred softly afterwards.

"I take that as a yes."

Ed looked up at the clock and realized it was almost time for the trial. He looked down at his new companion for a while before picking it up and placing it in the hood of his sweatshirt.

"Let's go, Roy!" Ed smiled and began to walk out the door, the small cat's head poking out over the top of his hood.

* * *

><p>Ed soon arrived at Namimori shrine and looked up to see Tsuna, Gokudera, Ryohei, Reborn, and Fon already there. Rain sprinkled down and beat against their forms.<p>

He raised his hand in greeting, "Hey!"

Tsuna turned to him, "Edward-sensei? You're here to watch the trial?"

"Yep, and not just me. Roy's here too!" Ed said.

"Roy?" Tsuna questioned.

Ed turned around and gestured to the cat sitting in his hood, staying dry because of the golden braid that prevented the rain from hitting him.

"You brought the cat with you?" Tsuna asked.

"Of course," Ed replied.

"Guys!" Yamamoto's voice was heard over the rain, "You came to watch the trial?"

"Yeah! We'll cheer you on with all we've got!" Ryohei assured.

"Yep," Tsuna said, "Do your best!"

"Che, I'm obliged to see this through as the boss's right hand man," Gokudera huffed, not making eye contact.

"Yeah," Yamamoto said, "Thanks!"

They all walked up towards the shrine together, looking for signs of Asari being there.

"He's not here yet!" Gokudera said, looking around for the ancient swordsman.

"He is," Reborn said.

As if on cue, a soft melody played on a flute was heard. Ed vaguely remembered it and hummed softly to the melody as well, his eyes closing as he began to remember the song more. When his eyes opened once more, he saw none other than Asari Ugetsu before him.

"I have not yet been able to introduce myself formally. I'm the first guardian of the Rain, Asari Ugetsu."

"Takeshi Yamamoto," Yamamoto replied, smiling at the man in front of him. His eyes widened in realization, "Can you wait for a moment, I forgot something."

Asari nodded and Yamamoto walked over to the small group of the tenth generation there. Edward smiled at the scene as they huddled together, "Vongola Fight!"

When Yamamoto returned to Asari's presence, he smiled, "Sorry for the wait."

"It's fine. Friendship is a beautiful thing."

"Yeah, it is," Yamamoto said in agreement before turning serious, "Let's do this."

Asari's eyes narrowed and he watched as the boy in front of him became rushed and hurried.

The fight began and everyone watched with baited breath, their attention never leaving the two fighters. Ed sighed as he watched the fight. He knew one thing for sure.

Yamamoto wouldn't pass this trial.

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><p><strong>LunarFallenStar: Here you guys go and I'm sorry for the wait! I hoped you like this chapter and please R&amp;R! I like to hear what you think about my story.<strong>


	14. Chapter 14

**LunarFallenStar: Hey guys! Sorry for the late update, I just got _SWAMPED _homework, had absolutely no free time, and got a massive migraine that lasted for days on end, not to mention howI'm dead tired and falling asleep in a lot of my classes... my teacher almost chewed my head off... *shudders*. Again, I apologize, and I thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter and thank you all for the reviews!**

**Hitman1412: Thanks for the review~! And I'm glad you liked how Ed is beginning to make a larger impact on the story now, but don't worry, he will most likely be fighting pretty soon so just wait!**

**CrimsonLocket: Thanks for your kind review, and I can't say I really updated it soon, but here's the new chapter!**

**SunshineAndMoonlight: Poor Yamamoto is right! But don't worry, everything will work out in this chapter!**

**Archsage328: Thanks for the review~! I'm glad you liked and are looking forward to the first generation's reactions. I can't wait to write it! Oh, and that pun was punny~! (I feel so stupid for saying that. -_-' ) And sadly, Ed's words weren't, but he'll talk some sense into the baseball fanatic yet! Read on and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Wow-chan: Thanks for the review and I'm glad you like my story! Ed will most likely not be able to talk to people from his world, but you never know because most of them are either six feet under (I died a little inside typing that) or really, really, really old. Like over 100 years... Well, here's the next chapter and I hope you enjoy it!**

**UniCryin: Ed has a smaller role right now, but don't worry, the time will come for him to _SHINE_~! It will happen soon (most likely) and he might get to fight a certain albino, mafia boss, marshmallow-addict (Again, a maybe) That previous statement just made me think of Ed busting down the door of the Millefiore base, weapons a blazin' then going up to Byakuran and threatening to destroy the marshmallows of the world~! Man, I need to lay off the candy... well anyway, here's the new chapter and I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

><p><strong><em>~Previously~<em>**

_**The fight began and everyone watched with baited breath, their attention never leaving the two fighters. Ed sighed as he watched the fight. He knew one thing for sure.**_

_**Yamamoto wouldn't pass this trial.**_

* * *

><p>The fight raged on and both sides appeared evenly matched, but that's what put Ed on edge. Asari was on a completely different level from the teenager that was Yamamoto Takeshi. Ed saw the deliberate openings and knew how exactly Asari was testing the new Rain Guardian. Sadly, despite Ed's advice, Yamamoto still didn't get the message.<p>

Ed's gaze drifted from the fight, already knowing the outcome of this trial. Soon, the sound of feet plodding against the ground signaled that the fight was over and the next Vongola generation was going to congratulate their comrade on an apparent success.

Ed saw Tsuna's eyes as the brunette ran by and he knew that Tsuna was experiencing an unsettling feeling.

Ed and the Arcobaleno present (minus Colonello who had been flung to the side) slowly moved towards where the Rain guardian was and watched as Asari yet again appeared in a swirl of pure blue Rain flames.

Yamamoto looked up expectantly only to have his fleeting happiness taken away as Asari uttered four simple words, "You did not pass."

Yamamoto looked up at the ancient man in confusion, "W-What? But I won the fight?"

Ed looked away from his student, not being able to look at his pitiful, dumbfounded state for long.

Asari looked at him and spoke once more, "However, I will give you a second chance tomorrow night," Yamamoto's face lifted, but settled into solemness as Asari continued, "But that will be your last chance. If you fail again, you will not receive a second chance. Keep that in mind."

Ed met Asari's eyes and a silent conversation ensued. Asari was making sure Ed would not give the young boy the answer as it was his trial. Ed understood Asari's unspoken words and nodded in affirmation. Asari directed his gaze back to the baseball star and disappeared once more in a swirl of rain flames, muttering a small farewell to the group.

Ed wouldn't have interfered even if Asari hadn't advised against it. He wouldn't guide them through it step by step, he would just help point them in the right direction. This was their test, not his.

* * *

><p><strong>~The Next Day~<strong>

Ed absentmindedly wrote on the board and watched as one by one, students filed into the classroom, exchanging 'good morning's with them before turning back to his work.

The bell for homeroom to start drew closer and closer and Yamamoto had yet to arrive. That fact irked Ed as Yamamoto was usually the first here as he often had a morning baseball practice or meeting. He knew he wasn't the only one as he watched as Gokudera and Tsuna exchanged words, worry evident. Well, Tsuna was obviously worried at least, Gokudera was muttering something along the lines of 'stupid baseball-idiot, making Juudaime worry so much.'

Ed directed his attention to the door as a solemn Yamamoto walked into the classroom. As the young teen walked in front of him, Ed absentmindedly hit the dazed teen over the head softly with a folder. Yamamoto looked at him in absent-minded shock, "Edward-sensei."

"That was for almost being late to class," Ed said, smiling softly before continuing in a more hushed tone, "Get your mind out of the gutter, it's not helping you at all."

Yamamoto stared at his teacher for a few moments before turning to walk towards to his desk. Tsuna immediately came up to greet him, "Yamamoto-kun! I thought you weren't going to come to school today."

"Oh, sorry for making you worry," Yamamoto said softly, "I just overslept by accident."

Ed's golden, hair antennae twitched slightly at hearing that. The baseball nut, early riser... overslept? That was not normal.

The bell sounded and Ed didn't mind that his students continued to talk quietly among themselves as he continued to make preparations for the lesson. A few minutes later, Ed flinched as the door slid open heavily, revealing a teacher, "Students, the bell for homeroom has sounded. No talking. Elric-san, please control your class."

"Ah, stop being so up-tight," Ed said happily, "It's not like they're hurting anyone. No blood means no worries, right?"

"That's for fights Elric-san," The teacher replied snidely.

"Well, I think it applies to this situation perfectly," Ed said indignantly in response, ignoring the small amount of laughter that came from his class, "Anyway, care to explain why you're here? Don't you have a class to take care of? You never know they might be... _talking_!" Ed said, putting emphasis on the last word.

The teacher muttered under his breath about how kids shouldn't be teachers, causing Ed to defend himself by saying that he was an adult, before he stepped to the side to reveal a young girl standing behind him, "She's a new transfer student into your class. I walked her over here."

Ed nodded and waved a hand, signaling that the teacher could leave. He walked over to the door and invited the young girl inside.

"Class, as you've heard, this is the new transfer student that will be joining this class," Ed said, gesturing to the girl beside him, "Her name is Yuni."

Yuni bowed to the class and smiled softly, watching Tsuna and co.'s shocked expressions, "As Elric-sensei said, my name is Yuni and I hope to have a good time with you all!"

"Oh, Yuni, feel free to call me Edward or Ed, I don't like the formalities. It makes me feel so... old," Ed said, fully aware of the irony of that statement. He is over 400 years old...

"Well, Yuni, feel free to take any empty seat you like and we'll get class started!" Ed smiled and walked over to the board.

Ed began the lesson and wandered around the classroom while doing so. He noticed that Yamamoto was paying absolutely no attention to the lesson. Well, that wasn't really irregular for the baseball fanatic, but now the boy looked completely withdrawn from society, blankly staring ahead.

Time flew by and soon the bell rang, signaling the start of lunch. As the students filed out, Ed picked up one of his books and walked over to where Yamamoto sat, unmoving from his spot. He briefly noted of Tsuna's and Gokudera's presence by the door in his peripheral vision.

Ed tried to get Yamamoto's attention, but having no luck, he raised the book and brought it down on Yamamoto's unsuspecting skull. It caused a chain reaction for as the back of Yamamoto's head met the edge of the book, his head shot forward and downward, soon colliding face first with his desk-top, which earned a muffled groan of discomfort from the mafia member.

Ed closed his eyes and opened one to look at the still-groaning Yamamoto when he spoke up, "What now, Edward-sensei?"

"I told you to get your mind out of the gutter. You aren't helping anyone right now. All you are doing is wallowing in your self pity which only ways you down and prevents you from succeeding. The rain is meant to wash away the blood of the battle, sending all of the sorrow away. You are obviously forgetting your role as a guardian, that is something unacceptable. Did you forget what I told you yesterday? If one loss or mistake sealed our fate then we'd all be royally screwed. No matter what happens, you must keep living and grow stronger both mentally and physically. If only one loss get's you down, you won't be able to succeed."

Ed said no more and left the room, saying no words to the duo standing by the door who stared at him in disbelief.

* * *

><p><strong>~Time Skip~<strong>

Ed sat on the roof of Namimori shrine, planning to watch the fight from afar. He looked up as a swirl of rain flames appeared beside him and quickly formed into the appearance of Asari Ugetsu.

"Good Evening, Ed," Asari said, looking down at the alchemist.

"Yo," Ed replied.

"You're here rather early, I would've thought you'd be showing up late like you always did back then," Asari chuckled and Ed's antennae twitched irritably.

"I'm here early because I don't want them to know I'm here," Ed said.

"Why's that?" Asari asked, intrigued by the blonde's behavior.

"I just want to gain a perspective on what's going on in Yamamoto's mind. He can fight up in the sky now, where the people below can't here him... I just want to know."

"Still the mind of a scientist," Asari smiled, before turning more serious. He asked a question he honestly wanted the answer to, "Ed, do you ever wish that you weren't immortal?"

Ed tensed slightly, but sighed, "Of course I do... I still don't understand why people want the secret to eternal life... it's not all it's made out to be. Out-living the people you love, never able to settle down... constantly moving so no one ever finds out. But it's a blessing as well. If I was never like this, I would've never met such great people," Ed smiled softly as he watched the group slowly walk up the steps, "Guess it's your time to get to business!"

Asari smiled at his friend before disappearing to go to test Yamamoto once more.

Ed looked as yet again, Yamamoto drew his weapon. He sighed, "Did he not compute anything at all?"

The fight started just like the previous one, with both appearing to be evenly matched as well as Asari providing many openings. Yamamoto was blocking and countering the attacks with ease and continued to look for an opening to strike.

Ed watched as Asari yet again prepared the attack that left his back wide open, the one that had caused Yamamoto to fail previously. Yamamoto jumped up, readying his sword for attack and Ed couldn't help but pay extra close attention to Yamamoto. He searched the boys eyes for any sign of a difference.

Just when Ed was about to look away, something flashed in Yamamoto's eyes. Ed smirked as Yamamoto's movements slowed and he came to a stop, lowering his sword before it came in contact with Asari. Asari smiled at him in approval, "Good job."

Ed smiled at his student, a good opinion beginning to form about the swordsman, "It's about time you figured it out."

"Congratulations Yamamoto Takeshi," Asari said, "You pass."

"What? But I didn't beat you..." Yamamoto began, but was cut off by Asari.

"You pass because I was testing you to see if you would strike a defenseless person, never once did I begin any invitation of battle, you just assumed it was a fight. I purposely left those openings to see if you would truly harm a defenseless person."

"That's why you looked confused," Yamamoto said, the dots in his mind finally connecting.

Ed and the others watched as the two continued to talk, soon laughing as if they were old pals.

Asari and Yamamoto returned to the ground and Yamamoto pulled out his Vongola box, soon earning the proof of passing Asari's trial.

After Asari left, Yamamoto turned to the group, "I wonder why Ed-sensei isn't here... he made such a big deal out of everything in school."

Tsuna and Gokudera nodded in agreement.

"What are you two talking about?" Reborn said, "He's been here the whole time."

"What?" They all asked in confusion.

Reborn didn't respond, but merely pointed to the blonde alchemist who sat comfortably on the roof of the shrine, grinning widely and waving at them, "Hey! You guys finally noticed!"

Tsuna just gaped at his crazy teacher while Yamamoto laughed like he usually did.

Ed continued to watch their interactions with each other as they huddled up once more. He smiled at the scene and looked to the side as Asari appeared once more on the roof, a little ways away from where he sat.

Ed smiled at Asari who smiled as well as they both watched the scene. Ed noticed Asari's eyes darting behind him and quickly flipped up his hood out of reflex. He listened in as Asari talked to G who had yet to notice his presence because a section of the roof blocked Ed from view.

"You're really too soft, Asari,"G said as he watched the tenth generation, "You should've just let him not pass the trial."

"I couldn't do that, and anyway, they're exactly like we were," Asari said, smiling at the group again.

"They are not," G responded indignantly.

Asari just chuckled and faced the red-head fully, "I hope you give your trial soon. You're in for a surprise!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" G asked.

"You'll find out, trust me," Asari replied, not telling G the answer.

"I don't see what could be that much of a surprise here," G stated indignantly as he checked his pocket watch.

Nearby, Ed stifled a laugh. Oh how wrong G was. He was really looking forward to this.

* * *

><p><strong>LunarFallenStar: Okay, and done! Hoped you guys liked it! R&amp;R Please and stay tuned for the next chapter.<strong>


	15. Chapter 15

**LunarFallenStar: Hey guys! New chapter and Lampo's trial shall begin! Hope you guys like it and thanks for the kind reviews!**

**UniCryin: You will get to see G's reaction soon. Don't worry.**

**Phantom Hitman 1412: Yep, Ed's hair antennae was awesome~! Yep, Ed shouts sense back into people, not 'talks', he's too cool for that :) Omigosh and with the thing about Ed making Tsuna's life hell so G would have to save him constantly! I so wanna' write that now! I'll most likely do that cause it is an AMAZING idea!**

**HebaAce: I feel so honored. You check your email to see if I update! I'm honored! I'm so happy you look forward to my updates so expectantly!**

**Archsage328: Oh no... Homework is surrounding me on all sides and I'm fresh out of dogs to eat it all! Requesting back up! If I don't make it out alive, tell my family I love them-! Well, anyway, thanks for the review and I'm glad you found it funny at the end and I hope you like this chapter!**

**SunshineAndMoonlight: Here's the next chapter and don't worry, I'd never fail dear old Yamamoto!**

**CrimsonLocket: To answer your question, I will most likely be continuing the story into the manga arcs as well.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~Previously~<strong>_

_**Asari just chuckled and faced the red-head fully, "I hope you give your trial soon. You're in for a surprise!"**_

_**"What's that supposed to mean?" G asked.**_

_**"You'll find out, trust me," Asari replied, not telling G the answer.**_

_**"I don't see what could be that much of a surprise here," G stated indignantly as he checked his pocket watch.**_

_**Nearby, Ed stifled a laugh. Oh how wrong G was. He was really looking forward to this.**_

* * *

><p>Ed sat by Tsuna who was currently staring intently at a math problem in his book.<p>

Ed was there because Reborn had insisted that Ed help the soon-to-be mafia boss with his studies as all of his guardians explained things rather... strangely. Ed was surprised at the request because usually Reborn wouldn't be too concerned with things like that and just let Tsuna's guardians help him, but Ed said he would help. Ed pointed at the problem and slowly began to explain how to solve it, step by step. Nearby, Lambo slept peacefully on Tsuna's bed as Reborn sat on the table, watching his student.

Halfway through, a bright light filled the room and Tsuna whirled around while Ed continued to look at the problem, the source of the light behind his back. He already knew what the cause was.

Tsuna's surprised shout soon filled the air as he looked at the apparition of who appeared to be adult Lambo with green hair and a lightning bolt under his eye, "Adult Lambo?"

"Lambo? It's Lampo," The young man said monotonously, appearing rather bored with the current situation, his right eye remaining closed constantly. That was when Lampo's eyes finally landed on the mop of golden hair pulled back into a braid, "Hey... that reminds me of Chibi-san..."

Lampo noticed a golden antennae twitch in irritation and was almost shocked at the similarities between the boy in front of him and Edward... Oh, how right he was.

"What was that?" Ed questioned, eyes flashing dangerously even though Lampo couldn't see them. Tsuna, however, noticed the blonde's change in demeanor and gulped, slowly backing against the wall.

"E-Edward-sensei," Tsuna tried to say in a calming manner, but it came off as blatantly terrified.

Lampo blinked a few times at the familiar name, "Edward?"

Edward slowly got up, turning around ever so slowly to face the old lightning guardian and in a most terrifying voice, said, "Surprise, Lampo!"

Lampo backed up slowly, "C-Chibi-san?"

Ed's eyes flashed dangerously, "What was that?"

"How can you be alive-" Lampo was cut off as a heavy metal fist collided with his skull, causing his face to collide with the floor.

"Did you forget that I'm immortal, dumbass?" Ed questioned, pounding his fist into his open palm.

Lampo looked up, "S-such a warm greeting... for someone you haven't seen in four hundred years..."

Despite not showing it, Ed was one of the few people Lampo truly respected, the first and foremost being none other than Vongola Primo. The golden haired alchemist was quite strong and protected what he cared about with all of his strength, something Lampo respected.

Ed smirked and laughed at Lampo. Though the rich boy got on his nerves sometimes, he still cared about him. Lampo was a good friend. Ed held out his hand which Lampo took and stood up with.

Turning to face Tsuna, Lampo turned to more serious matters, "I'm here for the succession test. Where's the brat?"

Tsuna got up and walked over to Lambo, attempting to wake up the sleeping five year old to no avail. Lampo grew annoyed quickly and was about to leave, but got thwacked in the back of the head by an annoyed alchemist, "Finish your duty, lightning rod."

"Um, Lambo isn't waking up, but I can deliver the trial task to him when he wakes up though..." Tsuna said hesitantly to Lampo.

Lampo nodded and monotonously gave the information of the trial to Tsuna.

Ed watched the guardian leave and smirked, "He looked like he just saw the devil."

Tsuna just stared at his teacher incredulously while Reborn just smirked at the events.

* * *

><p>Tsuna, Yuni, Lambo, I-pin, Reborn, and Fong stood at the entrance to the amusement park. Soon, the others approached and they headed inside with an excited Lambo who didn't even realize it was a serious trial. Tsuna looked around, expecting to see his teacher, but saw no sign of the blonde alchemist.<p>

* * *

><p>Up in the castle where Lampo was, Edward sat quietly watching his students. Lampo looked over at him, "Wouldn't you normally be the type to be down there in the action? How out of character..."<p>

"Normally yes, but this seems simple enough for them, I'll help when they need it," Ed replied as he watched the group go from ride to ride.

Ed's eyes narrowed when the teacup Tsuna and Lambo was riding in suddenly sped up and didn't slow down. He got suspicious when the something occurred like it at the go-carts when Lambo's went haywire.

Ed's eyes widened in realization. It was almost exactly like the Arcobaleno trials. It must be Verde causing the disturbances.

Lampo looked over at the immortal and raised an eyebrow in question, "What's wrong?"

"This is getting suspicious... They may need help at this rate. I'm going," Ed replied as he ran out of the room and left the castle.

Lampo sighed as he turned to face the window once more, "So bored..."

* * *

><p>Tsuna and the others (well, not all of them, but some) backed away in shock as the robots of the space-adventure ride came to life and began to get ready to attack them. One readied its weapon, but none had any time to counter or dodge. Tsuna flinched and held his hands above his head in a form of protection as did most others. He braced himself for pain, but looked around in shock when the pain never came, but only the sound of metal being sliced in half.<p>

His eyes landed on the source of the noise and found none other than Edward Elric, armed with his automail blade, cutting right down the center of the robot than roundhouse kicking it away.

Ed looked at them, "You guys all right?"

"Edward-sensei?" Tsuna asked, "When did you get here?"

"Oh, I've been here," Ed replied, kicking the head off a robot, "I've been up in the castle, keeping the lazy noble company."

Some of the Vongola began to fend off the robots that were attacking them. Taking this opportunity, Reborn and Edward herded Yuni, Tsuna, and Lambo toward the castle. However, when they reached their, another large robot, one that appeared to be the main one, blocked the entrance to where Lampo was residing.

Ed's eyes narrowed, "Verde..."

A mechanical arm extended and grabbed Lambo, attempting to separate him from the group. Tsuna tried to save Lambo by going into HDW, but was captured by Verde as well, dropping his pills and gloves.

As the fight continued, Verde attempted to take Lambo's horns. This didn't bode well as all of the electricity Verde had placed on the cow-clad boy erupted out and shocked the robot... as well as an unfortunate Decimo. However, before any serious damage could be done, Ed used his blade to chop through the arms holding the two mafia members hostage and rescue them before the robot could explode along with them. When the smoke cleared, Ed used his flames to construct a pillar and send Lambo, Tsuna, and him into the sky and crashing through the window of the room Lampo was in.

They rolled to a stop on the carpet before Lampo, "Lampo! Delivery~!" Edward said, standing up to dust off his clothes.

Lampo walked over to Tsuna who gave him the stamp sheet. Lampo inspected the sheet before speaking up, "There's only to stamps though, you need three."

Tsuna gaped at the sheet. He had stamped something though! He then remembered and walked over to Lambo, showing where he had stamped the young Bovino accidentally upon the butt.

Lampo sighed, "It won't work. You needed to stamp the paper not the brat's butt..."

"Now Lampo, I don't believe you ever went into specifics about where the stamps needed to be placed, and anyway, if you don't pass them, you'll be in a world of pain," Edward said, walking up to the noble and leaned on the green-haired man's shoulder.

"Please, what could you do to me?" Lampo asked, looking away.

A devilish look passed over Ed's face as he whispered something into Lampo's ear. Tsuna couldn't hear what Edward said, but judging by the look of horror and fear that passed over Lampo's face, it was bad and he didn't want to know what Ed said.

Ed smirked as Lampo begrudgingly passed Lambo and leant him his power.

As the group walked back home, Reborn hopped onto Ed's shoulder, "I heard what you said to Lampo... very persuasive. By looking at you, I wouldn't be able to tell you would be able to threaten someone like that."

"Work in the military for a while, you learn how to persuade and interrogate. It's an art," Ed replied.

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><p><strong>LunarFallenStar: Done! End of chapter! Hope you guys liked it and I hope you'll review and stay tuned for the next chapter~!<strong>


	16. Chapter 16

**LunarFallenStar: Hey guys! Here's the new chapter and I hope you like it! Thanks for all the kind reviews!**

**CrimsonLocket: Thanks for the review! It was funny because on the day I first read your review, I had a science test as well the next day. I'm glad you liked the chapter!**

**UniCryin: What Ed whispered to Lampo will most likely forever be a mystery, but you can imagine up anything~! I'm glad you liked the chapter and I hope you like this one as well!**

**Archsage328: I'm glad you thought the chapter was funny. And the relationship between Ed and Lampo is entertaining! I wanted Lampo to kind of look up to Ed, but they both fight with each other often, with Ed winning all the time basically...**

**Phantom Hitman 1412: Thanks for giving me the idea and you get to see the result in this chapter and I'm really glad you liked the other chapter! Yep, Ed most definitely has great blackmail material. I hope you like this chapter!**

**SunshineAndMoonlight: I'm glad you liked the chapter! BTW, Love the new profile pic! Who's it of, 'cause they look familiar, but I can't place my finger on it.**

**HebaAce: Still honored that you look forward to my stories so much! And I'm sorry the chapter wasn't longer, but I'm glad you found it funny and amazing!**

**Honda Natsuka: What Ed said will remain a mystery (most likely) but you are free to imagine what it was! I'm really honored that you like my story!**

**A Natsume Yuujinchou Lover: Hi ANYL, I'm happy you looked forward to my updates so much! I'm glad you liked Yamamoto's battle was good and that the previous chapter was interesting with Ed physically and verbally abusing Lampo! And you're lucky... all of my siblings don't inform me when I miss something in one of my shows... You take care too!**

**Umei no Mai: I'm glad you like my story and think it's good!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~Previously~<strong>_

_**As the group walked back home, Reborn hopped onto Ed's shoulder, "I heard what you said to Lampo... very persuasive. By looking at you, I wouldn't be able to tell you would be able to threaten someone like that."**_

_**"Work in the military for a while, you learn how to persuade and interrogate. It's an art," Ed replied.**_

* * *

><p>Reborn, Colonello, Fong, Tsuna, Yuni, Lambo, Yamamoto, Gokudera, and Ed sat in Tsuna's room, discussing the recent inheritance test. Many were congratulating Lambo on a job well done, Tsuna however spoke up, "You have no idea what you put us through."<p>

"I'm still amazed you passed, stupid cow," Gokudera commented.

"We only passed because of pure luck... and Ed," Reborn said, "He persuaded the first-gen lightning guardian to pass Lambo."

"Huh, How did Elric manage to do that?" Gokudera asked incredulously.

"Through time-honored art of blackmail!" Ed said happily.

Tsuna looked at him, deadpanning at his teacher's happiness, "What did you say to Lampo, Edward-sensei?"

"Oh," Ed faced the Decimo, smiling (Tsuna could've sworn he saw the devil himself smirking behind Ed), "I'll leave that to your imagination, but trust me, it is rather amusing."

They continued to talk, and Gokudera couldn't help but gripe, "How could I be upstaged by both the baseball idiot AND the stupid cow? It just doesn't make sense! When will my test begin?"

"Have patience," Ed said, before quietly adding, "You're just giving G something to use against you..."

Gokudera didn't listen and continued to complain. Looking up at the ceiling, he yelled out, "Hey you! I know you're watching this! Hurry up and give me the test already or there will be hell to pay!"

Tsuna sweat dropped, looking at his storm guardian incredulously, "Now he's fighting with an invisible opponent."

Ed slowly stood up and looked at the clock, "Well, I have to go..."

Ed waved good-bye at those in the room and left, walking home in the darkness. His mind began to wander as his thoughts drifted to how Byakuran knew he was from a different world, as well as how the Marshmallow-addict had said they were even once friends. Ed was pretty sure he would remember meeting an Albino with a god-complex.

Ed shook his head slightly as he opened the gate to his house and pulled out his keys. Could he have possibly met the strange man in Amestris, but he was in Amestris 100 years ago technically, it was more like 400. He unlocked the door and stepped into his house.

He was met by a soft meowing and looked down to see his pet cat Roy standing in front of him. Ed smiled and said, "Looks like you're hungry. Let's get you some food."

Ed walked to the kitchen and quickly fixed food for the cat who watched him intently. He placed the bowl on the floor and watched in amusement as the cat attacked it with intensity. Ed slowly pet the cat and stood up, looking at the clock.

He sighed and got ready for bed, still slightly miffed by the mysterious mafia boss of the Millefiore family.

* * *

><p>Ed walked down the street early the next morning, heading to school to prepare for his classes. He passed by a local park and was surprised to see an agitated Gokudera crawling into the bushes, calling the name of his box weapon, Uri.<p>

Quirking an eyebrow, he slowly walked closer to the scene, remaining hidden. His eyes widened in shock when he saw another Gokudera walking towards Fong. Ed's eyes narrowed dangerously as he heard the surprisingly low voice for who appeared to be a teenager. Ed smirked evilly when he recognized the voice. It was none other than his old pal, G. Time to have some fun with the old storm guardian (insert evil laugh of your choice hear).

He wasn't allowed to interfere, but why not have some fun while the trials are going on?

* * *

><p>Ed watched in glee as 'Gokudera' gaped at him in shock. This was really too easy! Ed continued to give the lesson, taking notice at G's different stages of shock. Was it really that surprising to see your immortal 'supposed-to-be-dead' friend teaching a middle-school class? Apparently it is.<p>

When the bell rang, Ed dismissed the class and spoke up, "Ah, Gokudera-kun, could you please stay after class?"

G just nodded and walked up to his torturer- um teacher...

"Yes... Elric?" G chose his words wisely.

"Awww, that's all the greeting I get after not seeing you for four hundred years G?" Ed placed his hand over his heart in a dramatic fashion, fake cringing in pain, "I'm hurt."

"Wait, how did you know it was me?" G asked.

"Oh, I just used my intellect to quickly deduce it was you all along," Ed replied.

G gaped at the immortal teenager before him.

"Just kidding," Ed smiled, "I saw you in the park this morning. And just to let you know, you will be having a lot of 'fun' today, courtesy of me!"

G's expression quickly changed to that of horror. He had seen this side of Ed only a few times, but each time was a mentally-scarring experience that almost no one wanted to repeat. He hoped that time had mellowed his companion, but sadly he could only hope for the best.

G walked out of the classroom, not daring to look back at the blonde who was probably grinning like a mad man.

* * *

><p>Class had resumed and it was time for Ed to teach one of his favorite subjects, chemistry. He had paired Tsuna and Gokudera as lab-partners so he could put into action his evil plot. Ed had 'accidentally' mixed up the chemicals at Tsuna's and Gokudera's station for the experiment. G, pretending to be Gokudera, naturally couldn't fail to protect his boss from an 'accidental' explosion that would occur if they... hmmm... I don't know... mixed together two slightly explosive chemicals.<p>

Standing at the front of the room, Ed directed the class as to which chemicals go where and watched silently as Tsuna prepared to pour the contents of the beaker into the compound. When he was finished, Ed watched as 'Gokudera' sent a surprised look at the beaker before turning to glare slightly at Ed who just smiled. G pushed Tsuna out of the way, caught all of the beakers that flew towards them, and managed to protect Tsuna from any harm.

As they began to clean up the mess, G knew he was going to be in a living hell.

* * *

><p>The class stood outside as Tsuna looked nervously around, waiting for their gym teacher to show up. He was filled with shock when none other than Edward walked onto the field dressed in a jump suit.<p>

"E-E-Edward-sensei?" Tsuna asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, the regular gym teacher got sick and I offered to fill in for him," Ed smiled. Meanwhile, in the nurse's office, the gym teacher clutched his stomach in pain, "Curse you, Elric... what did you put in my food..."

G stared at Ed and hoped that this wouldn't be too much of a torture session.

Ed first started the class off with pole-vaulting. Tsuna was last in line and when his turn finally approached, Ed picked up the pole and handed it to Tsuna who gulped nervously. G's eyes narrowed at Ed... He could've sworn he saw a small discharge of flames. Realization smacked G in the face as he watched Tsuna begin to run towards the goal. When Tsuna was aloft, the pole 'accidentally' broke in half. G ran forward as fast as he could, catching the Decimo before he could fall. Sending a silent glare towards Ed, G sat the freaking-out Tsuna on the floor.

G was not looking forward to the rest of this day.

Later in P.E., everything bad was happening to Tsuna. They did chin-ups and the bar Tsuna was using 'accidentally' snapped in half and G had to catch him. Later, the ground miraculously shook (courtesy of Ed) and Tsuna went flying into the air... repeatedly, only to get caught by 'Gokudera'... repeatedly. There were many, many more things that G didn't want to repeat (and were possibly to mentally scarring for the readers) and G was surprised at Ed's creativity.

Many, many horrible things happened that day, but some good things happened to Tsuna because of G. He made a goal in soccer and actually got questions right in Math class.

At the end of the day, Tsuna was slightly scared yet happy at how things had gone that day.

Ed walked up to him before he left school, "Tsunayoshi-kun, good job in class today!"

"T-Thanks, Edward-sensei!" Tsuna said, smiling, "But it was mainly Gokudera-kun..."

Ed patted him on the back, "It was all you Tsunayoshi-kun! Don't sell yourself short!"

Tsuna nodded happily and left the classroom.

Ed smiled after the boy, but that grin soon turned into a devilish smirk. He walked over to his desk and began to wipe off a colorless substance on his hand. While they were at lunch, Ed had spent his time in the chemistry lab, creating a colorless substance similar to steak-sauce that would have the dogs running wild. Since he had placed said substance on the back of Tsuna, who was terrified of dogs, G would have his work cut out out for him.

Ed left the school and silently followed behind Gokudera and Tsuna. He looked at his watch, "Any second now..."

As Ed began to hear the faint sound of barking in the distance, Ed hopped up onto the cement walls surrounding the house and watched from above as the events unfolded.

There was a lot more dogs than expected and G had his work cut out for him. Whenever one dog lunged for Tsuna, G would rush to protect him only to have another spring at the teenager from the opposite direction.

Ed watched as G ran from place to place holding off the dogs.

Eventually, the dogs began to realize they couldn't get past the silver-haired teen's defenses and lost interest, soon locating a cat a few meters away and decided to go after that instead.

After catching their breath, 'Gokudera' and Tsuna began to head back towards their destination, only to be interrupted again by something bad that Ed didn't plan (for once).

It appeared to be a gang that the real Gokudera had obviously pissed off. G took up the defense and quickly beat down the gang members. Ed forced back a laugh when the gang appeared to be easier to defeat than the pack of dogs. When G had finished, the members were in a neatly organized pile. That was when the REAL Gokudera made his appearance.

When confusion rose and G revealed himself, Ed decided to make his appearance. Jumping down from the wall he was sitting upon, Ed pile-drived the gang members, quickly getting up and jumping off them gracefully.

"E-Edward-sensei!" Tsuna asked in confusion, "When did you get here?"

"I was here the whole time," Ed said, "This was really quite entertaining."

"Wait, does that mean..." Tsuna wondered, "All of the bad things that happened were part of Gokudera-kun's trial?"

Ed made an 'X' with his arms, "Dead wrong."

G nodded in agreement to Ed's statement, "That was just the midget ("Who're you calling small?") making my life... well, my time here, a living hell..."

"What?" Tsuna gaped at the two before him, "You mean... my life being in danger was just because Edward-sensei was playing a game..."

Ed nodded, "If your life was in immediate danger, I would've protected you. I was just testing G's performance is all. Anyway, G, get on with the whole trial thing. We are pressed for time."

G sighed and nodded, continuing where he had left off before Ed had interrupted.

"Decimo, how did you feel about my performance as your right hand man today?" G asked.

"Th-that's, well..." Tsuna began, "You were very helpful... and reliable..."

A look of shock spread over Gokudera as he heard what his precious boss had said.

"Unlike usual, right?" G asked the nervous Decimo.

"Th-that's..." Tsuna looked around nervously.

Ed watched as Gokudera's eyes narrowed slightly in remorse as he looked down at the ground. He looked back to G who soon spoke up.

"Consider what a right hand man should do before he acts," G said, "This only shows that he failed to do so."

Gokudera grit his teeth, "Enough of your prattle!"

"The same goes for these guys..." G said as he looked at the pile of gang members on the rode, "This was another product of your irresponsible behavior. You are only exposing more danger to Decimo, not protecting him."

Gokudera looked down at the ground in defeat, thinking to himself, 'He's right... I keep... I keep making more trouble for the boss. I've failed as his right hand man.'

"G-Gokudera-kun," Tsuna said in worry as he saw the mix of emotions racing through his friend.

"You aren't meant to be the guardian of the Storm Ring. Much less the right-hand man of the Vongola," G said, causing Gokudera's hands to ball into fists, "Return your ring to Decimo and go back to Italy."

Tsuna gaped at G, before yelling, "I can't let that happen!" G turned to him quirking an eyebrow while Gokudera looked at his boss in shock. Fong and Ed smiled softly, "It's true that Gokudera-kun is quick to start a fight. He loses control sometimes, which makes a lot of trouble for us, but he's always trying his best. That's what endears him! The right hand man and guardian stuff doesn't matter! Uh... In any case, Gokudera-kun is an important friend of mine. You can't just tell him to leave!"

"So you're okay with him as the guardian of the storm ring?" G asked.

"That's right."

"Even if he isn't the perfect guardian?"

"That doesn't matter!"

"Juudaime..." Gokudera said quietly, "Juudaime... I vow to protect you, even if I don't get the inheritance. G, this is one point I refuse to yield, regardless if whether you deem me worthy or not! My resolve is firm!"

"Is that enough?" Fong asked, "You should see how strong their bond is now. Recklessness and naivety is needed at times. Weren't you the same at one point?"

"Bah," G smirked.

"Wh-what?" Tsuna asked, confused.

"He wanted to test the bonds between you both... see if it was unbreakable," Ed explained, "You can't be a right hand man, or even a guardian, without the complete trust of the boss."

G nodded, "With that trust, you'd be able to face any enemy that may come. Defeat the enemy with a relentless stream of attacks that never falters. In other words, protect your allies with all you've got. That is the essence of the guardian of the storm ring."

"Always at the center of attack, the furious storm that never rests," Gokudera said.

"That's right. Don't forget that," G smiled as he spoke.

"Yeah," Gokudera nodded in determination.

"I now bequeath the inheritance of the guardian of the storm ring," G said, gradually turning into a torrent of storm flames, "Oh, and Ed, I _will_ get even."

Ed sweat dropped and nodded dumbly, "Sure, I won't hold my breath though."

"Yes, Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna said in happiness, "You passed!"

"Yeah, Juudaime!"

"At least he managed to safely clear this trial," Fong muttered.

* * *

><p>G stood outside Namimori shrine, staring at the golden pocket-watch, a red storm flame appearing in the center of it.<p>

A torrent of Sky flames appeared beside him and he closed the pocket watch just as Giotto appeared, "Good work, G."

"Just doing my job," G replied to his boss.

Giotto smiled, "Decimo knew you weren't his storm guardian despite me sealing his hyper intuition."

"Naturally, they're carrying on the Vongola we created," G said, turning to Giotto, "They won't get the job done if their bond isn't strong enough."

"G... This brings back memories of when we first formed our band of vigilantes, we were told that a bunch of kids could never accomplish anything."

"Yeah, I remember that," G replied, nostalgia washing over him, "Put yourself in my shoes and think of everything I've had to endure because of your crazy antics."

"And yet you stuck with me through thick and thin," Giotto said in response, "I'm very grateful for that."

"A little late for that," G said, "But I don't regret a second of it."

"Yeah," Giotto said in agreement.

"Not to mention how Elric just fell rom the sky with his little brother... literally," G said, "He was a pain in my backside back then and he still is. Do you KNOW how much trouble I went through today because of him?"

"Oh, I know," Giotto said, chuckling, "I was watching the whole time. Leave it to Ed to entertain me when this is a serious time."

"It's not so funny if it's happening to you!" G said indignantly, earning a small chuckle from Giotto.

* * *

><p><strong>LunarFallenStar: This chapter is officially done and I hope you guys liked it so please R&amp;R!<strong>


	17. Chapter 17

**LunarFallenStar: Hey guys! Here's the latest chapter and I hope you enjoy it! Oh, and thank you all for reading and for all of your kind reviews! I really appreciate it!**

**UniCryin: Glad you liked the chapter!**

**HebaAce: I'm glad you thought it was funny! Oh, and with the flashbacks of Ed's time with the first generation, I was thinking of possibly posting a separate story of it eventually and possibly a couple flashbacks in this one.**

**SunshineAndMoonlight: Thanks for the review and yep, G's and Ed's relationship is similar to Ed's and Roy's. So that's who your profile pic was of. I have read and watched (even though it was different from the manga) Tsubasa Chronicles and I was thinking that the girl in your profile pic looked like Tomoyo. I wasn't able to see it super clearly, but now I can tell.**

**archsage328: I'm glad you thought it was so funny! Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Phantom Hitman 1412: I'm glad you liked it and laughed a lot! Don't worry, Ed fixed everything he broke and Tsuna most likely is mentally scarred about Gym class for the rest of his life. LOL I was laughing so much at your tip for the Vongola. It's funny! And I agree with you! Tsuna's and Gokudera's relationship is rock solid!**

**CrimsonLocket: Yes Ed was quite scary. Oh and about Ed and Al falling from the sky, I never said specifically before, but they got sent back in time so I just thought it would be funny for them to meet Giotto and G by falling on them.**

**Albiii: Glad you liked the story so far and I'm REALLY sorry if I made a mistake on Ed's age. I just estimated kind of because I couldn't find when Giotto and the first Gen. was alive exactly... so oops...**

**Kildosad: I'm glad you liked the story and enjoyed it. Thanks for the kind review.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~Previously~<strong>_

_**"Not to mention how Elric just fell rom the sky with his little brother... literally," G said, "He was a pain in my backside back then and he still is. Do you KNOW how much trouble I went through today because of him?"**_

_**"Oh, I know," Giotto said, chuckling, "I was watching the whole time. Leave it to Ed to entertain me when this is a serious time."**_

_**"It's not so funny if it's happening to you!" G said indignantly, earning a small chuckle from Giotto.**_

* * *

><p>Ed grabbed the eraser and slowly erased the chalkboard. He said good bye to the students as they walked out of his classroom and headed home or to club activities. As Tsuna and his friends exited the room, he briefly wondered who would be taking their trial next. So far, Yamamoto, Lambo, and Gokudera had each passed their respective trials. That meant there were four trials left, and Tsuna would most likely be last so it would either be Ryohei, Hibari, or Chrome (possibly Mukuro, but Ed hasn't met him yet, only the future version of Mukuro).<p>

A shaky cry reverberated through the silence and Ed dropped his eraser in shock, "Tsunayoshi-kun?"

Ed walked slowly out into the hallway only to see the tonfa-wielding prefect before Tsuna and co, asking why they were crowding and causing a ruckus.

Ed wondered slightly what the disturbance until he heard a gruff voice, "Training to the EXTREME!"

"Ah, it's Ryohei," Ed said as he saw the boxer pulling a roller through campus.

He walked up to Hibari, "Kyoya-san, please calm down," Edward said, immediately earning a tonfa pressed against his throat. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw Tsuna having a panic attack and his two taller friends looking slightly miffed by the fact Ed had just called Hibari by his first name.

"Don't address me so familiarly, herbivore," Hibari said, obviously annoyed out of his mind.

Ed smirked at the prefect's unvoiced threat, "Oh, did I strike a nerve?"

Ed swore he saw Tsuna's and his friends' jaws drop to the floor. His little comment caused the tonfa to press harder into his throat. Looking around slowly, Ed noticed that no other students were present, most already at their clubs or heading home.

"If I were you, I wouldn't point your weapons at your allies, that could get you killed," Ed said, pushing the tonfa away from his throat, "Furthermore, I'd advise you to worry about your trial. Because if you lose, I don't know, the whole world is basically screwed. No big deal," Ed said, sarcasm dripping from his words.

Hibari was raised his tonfa in the air again, but Tsuna interrupted, "H-Hibari-san, we'll try to keep Ryohei from causing to many disturbances."

Hibari lowered his tonfa slowly, "Hn," He turned around slowly, walking away, "If any more disturbances occur because of you, I'll bite you all to death. And Herbivore, I will finish this later."

Ed smirked as the prefect left, "I'll be looking forward to that fight then."

"Edward-sensei!" Tsuna said, walking up to his favorite teacher, "Why did you say those things to Hibari-san?"

Ed turned to face his students, "I don't really know... I've always wanted to do that though. That attitude of his could very well get him killed. At least he has strength to back it up."

Tsuna sighed, "You were freaking me out! I thought he would've bitten us all to death for a second there!"

"But he didn't," Ed said, walking back into the classroom, "I'll see you all later, I have stuff to do. Tell me when another trial comes up."

The others sighed to themselves and began to walk out of school.

* * *

><p><strong>Time Skip<strong>

Ed sighed to himself and looked up at the clock. It was a few hours later and he could tell the sun was almost setting. He exhaled slowly and set down the stack of now graded papers on his desk.

He got up slowly and stretched, popping the joints in his stiff back, "Time for a nap break," Ed said to himself as he walked up to the roof to sleep.

A few hours before, Ed had heard the sound of Tsuna, Gokudera, and Yamamoto trying to convince Hibari to take the trial seriously so Ed assumed it was finally Hibari's turn to earn the first generations approval.

Ed slowly opened the door to the roof and stepped out into the dimming sunshine, inhaling the crisp evening air. He climbed onto the top of the stairwell and laid down on the could cement, the setting sun casting a golden glow over him. He crossed his left hand behind his head, lifting his right automail hand, a flesh-like covering hiding the material, up to the sky.

Ed didn't know how much time had passed, but he was jolted from his peaceful reverie by the sound of a door slamming open.

He moved into a sitting and rubbed his eyes, wondering who would be here at this hour besides a teacher. His question was answered when a strong voice resounded through the still evening silence, causing the birds to fly away.

"Hibari! A man's life is a never ending fight, even if it isn't a battle!" Ryohei yelled as he followed behind an annoyed Hibari.

Ed watched with amusement as Hibari hurriedly rushed forward, still appearing to walk normally while completely ignoring the persistent boxer behind him. Ed looked to the other rooftop and now noticed that a small crowd gathered there. No one noticed yet so Ed decided to lay low for the time being and just watch, wanting to see how this would play out.

"You must never turn your back on fate!" Ryohei continued, grabbing Hibari's shoulder to stop the prefect's movements, "The Hibari I know would never give up without stepping into the ring!"

Hibari whirled around and slashed up, wielding his tonfas. Ryohei dodged quickly, stepping back and his hands flying up in a defensive position.

"If you continue to be persistent, I will have to punish you," Hibari said, glaring at the teenager before him.

Ryohei gritted his teeth before yelling out, "Very well! If words aren't going to be enough, I'll use my fists!"

The two teens glared at each other, seeming to be completely concentrated. All hell looked as if it was about to break loose, but everything was stopped when a shadow slowly passed over the building.

Everyone ceased their movements and looked up in surprise, seeing none other than a giant blimp with a picture of an octopus on the side and accents of purple here and there.

"What?" Ryohei said, looking up at the giant airship, "Who's interrupting our intense showdown!"

Ed looked up at the blimp, inspecting it closely.

'The mark is on Skull's helmet, so that means this belongs to the Karkassa family!' Ed thought, 'I'm guessing things are about to get real ugly, real fast.'

As Skull's voice became clear over the microphone, Skull quickly began to start his rant which promptly made Ed lose any and all interest in the matter. Ed found himself snapping back to reality, however, when the angered Arcobaleno quickly became ready to fire the cannons located on the blimp.

'What the hell?' Ed asked himself in shock, 'This baby has serious issues!'

Ed got ready to defend himself and attack, but didn't move from his spot atop the stairwell. He decided it would be best to let Hibari and Ryohei handle this for now and step in if he was needed, which was not the case as of yet.

Ed watched with interest as Skull fired at the school, only to have each and every attack be blocked by the angry Hibari and Ryohei. Ed couldn't help but laugh slightly as Hibari used Roll to create a hole in the front of the blimp, causing the massive airship to descend slowly. Ed was snapped out of his laughter however when he realized the blimp was on a collision coarse for the school.

Ed stood up quickly, lighting the flame on his forehead before turning to Ryohei and Hibari, "Ryohei! Kyoya-san!"

Ryohei looked up at him in shock while Hibari grew annoyed and looked away, "Elric-sensei! When did you get here?"

"I've been here," Ed replied, "I'll move around the particles in the air and slow down the blimp as much as I can! I can't really help any more in case this is part of your trial, as I'm not allowed to interfere! Do what you can with the extra time!"

Ryohei nodded while Hibari grunted and the two teenagers went into action.

Hibari opened up his box weapon again and sent multiple spikes up to the airship, hoping to stop it's descent, but sadly it had no effect. Ed gritted his teeth as he slowly shut his eyes. Concentrating on the air around him, everything around him slipped away as he solely concentrated on slowing down the blimp.

Everyone was surprised when Skull fired more missiles at the two teenagers.

"It can still fire?" Ryohei asked in disbelief, quickly using his box weapon to propel himself into the sky. As he got closer and closer to the falling blimp, Skull fired another round of missiles to halt Ryohei's advancement. Ryohei, however, smoothly dodged them all and briefly craned his head to look at Hibari, "Hibari! All yours!"

Hibari grunted, "You didn't have to tell me that... I will protect Nami Middle."

Hibari quickly maneuvered the spiked spheres of his box weapon into a position that would prevent the missiles from harming the school or anyone else.

Everyone watched with baited breath as Ryohei got closer and closer to the airship, "Take this!" He yelled punching the nose of the blimp, "MAXIMUM CANNON!"

A blinding light formed around Ryohei's fist and everyone watched as the power that was built up was released, creating a massive shockwave that destroyed the blimp in a burst of light.

Smoke clouded everyone's vision and everyone waited, looking to see if Ryohei was unharmed.

Ed slowly opened his eyes, feeling the presence of the balloon now gone, and smirked when he saw the smoke dissipate and reveal Ryohei who watched as multiple crew-members floated to the ground using their parachutes.

"We won't forget this!" They yelled, swearing vengeance on Ryohei, who remained unfazed.

Everyone looked up in shock as they saw another, smaller airship slowly making its way towards them.

"How dare you!" Skull's voice resounded over a speaker.

"An escape pod?" Ed realized, "You coward! Escaping to save yourself, but leaving your men behind? Despicable."

Ed was shocked when he heard Hibari give a small grunt in agreement.

Everyone kept their attention on the small airship, waiting to see what Skull had up his sleeve. It wasn't really surprising when Skull lowered down small guns attached to the floor of the ship and aimed them at Ryohei and Hibari, not hesitating to fire.

Right before Skull fired, however, Ryohei finally noticed his little sister, Kyoko, along with Haru, Lambo, and I-pin, looking up at him with shock. He snapped his attention back towards Skull however when a small, yet audible, click was heard, signaling that a missile had been shot towards him. He flew up to them, "Maximum Ingram!" He yelled out, appearing to split into three people to punch all of the missiles at once, destroying them. He lowered himself down a little bit, but soon noticed a stray missile heading directly towards the group on the ground. i.e.: His sister, Haru, Lambo, and I-pin.

He realized that he couldn't stop it in time and by Ed's loud string of curses, he assumed Ed was in the same predicament.

Ryohei watched in horror as the missile reached its destination and smoke obscured their vision.

Everyone was surprised, however, when the smoke cleared. Instead of a smoldering crater, there was a purple ball of spikes, which turned out to be Roll, with its back facing the airship. Hibari had used Roll to shield the bystanders from the attack that would have either severely injured them, or worse, killed them. Ryohei turned to offer thanks to Hibari, but was surprised to find the prefect jumping up slowly to the airship.

Ryohei turned when he heard a thud beside him and saw none other than Ed beside him, slowly standing up.

Ed whistled softly, "Skull really pissed Hibari off."

Ryohei found himself nodding in agreement.

"P-Please Stop this!" Skull's pleas were heard over the sound of Hibari's trademark threat.

"I'll bite you to death!"

Everyone watched as Hibari slashed the airship quickly with his tonfa, jumping out of the way before the airship exploded, sending Skull flying who knows where.

"G-great job, my student, you've improved!" Skull yelled as he flies away, "But why did you have to do this to me?"

Ed cupped his hands around his mouth and faced skull, breathing in, before yelling, "Shit happens! What goes around comes around, you psycho baby!"

* * *

><p>Ed stood at the edge of the roof, watching as the group ran towards Kyoko, Haru, Lambo, and I-pin, obviously worried about them. Hibari slowly walked behind them, not showing any form of interest.<p>

Ed smiled to himself as he saw a torrent of sun flames appear, revealing Knuckle, and after a few moments another torrent of Cloud flames appeared, revealing Alaude.

Deciding to make his entrance, Ed jumped off the roof, using his flames to slow his descent, yelling, "EXTREME free-falling!"

Both Knuckle and Alaude turned around in surprise and their faces displayed the overwhelming shock they felt, and it took a lot to make Alaude have any kind of reaction.

"Ed?" Knuckle said in surprise as Ed landed in front of them.

"Elric?" Alaude said as well.

Ed stood up and smirked at their expressions, "Is it that surprising to see me?"

"Yes considering you were supposed to be dead and extremely long time ago," Knuckle said in shock.

Alaude grunted and looked away.

"That's the only form of greeting I get from you? You are still such a stubborn dog, Alaude-chan chan?"

"What was that Elric?" Alaude asked, a dangerous glint in his voice.

"Oh, you still don't like that nickname?" Ed asked, obviously enjoying himself, "Which one would you prefer? Maybe 'Alaude-puppy' or something like-"

"Your dead Elric!"

Everyone watched in confusion at the scene before them. Gokudera turned to Knuckle and asked, "I thought that the first cloud guardian was supposed to be a level-headed, mature person that didn't really interact with others?"

"Oh, he usually is," Knuckle replied, "However, Ed over there is a special case. He's one of the only people that has been able make Alaude loose his cool. He was actually one of the first people to make him lose his cool _willingly_."

Tsuna sighed, "Just leave it to Edward-sensei to get a rise out of someone..."

Knuckle nodded in agreement, "Yep. Ed once told me that making enemies wasn't something that he avoided."

Tsuna sweat-dropped.

A few minutes later after they managed to split up the fight between the two, they finally managed to complete the inheritance ceremony. After Alaude and Knuckle accepted Hibari and Ryohei as worthy, they slowly began to fade back into flames.

Right before they left, however, Alaude said one last thing, "Hibari... beware of Elric..."

Everyone wondered what he meant while Ed just snickered, "I think Alaude's worried I'll treat Hibari the same way I treat him."

* * *

><p>Later that night, Ed looked out his window and at the stars sparkling in the sky.<p>

"The trial of Daemon is next... I'm really not looking forward to seeing that bastard..." Ed gritted his teeth.

* * *

><p><strong>LunarFallenStar: This chapter is officially done! Oh, I wanted to make Ed's relationship with Hibari and Alaude kind of be a comical one where he would just annoy them for the fun of it and try to make them lose their cool. So, to do that, Ed will give Hibari stupid nicknames and call him by his first name, 'Kyoya'. I thought it would be kind of funny to see Hibari get annoyed. Well, R&amp;R and stay tuned for the next chapter!<strong>


	18. Chapter 18

**LunarFallenStar: Hey guys! Here's the latest chapter and I hope you enjoy it! Oh, and thank you all for reading and for all of your kind reviews! I really appreciate it! I also might not be able to update in about two weeks as I am going on vacation, but hopefully I will be able to if I have time...  
><strong>

**UniCryin: I'm glad you liked this chapter and guess what? You'll get to see the Edward's and Daemon's relationship. **

**Archsage328: I'm glad you thought it was funny! And Yay! You get a cyber-cookie because you guessed what I based Ed and Alaude's (and eventually Hibari's) relationship off of, which would be Fai's and Kurogane's relationship, more or less.**

**SunshineAndMoonlight: Thanks for the review and I'm glad you liked this chapter! And here! Have a cyber-cookie 'cuz you guessed who I based Ed's and Alaude's/Hibari's relationship off of! I was reading Tsubasa Chronicles before I finished this chapter, and I'm like, 'It would be interesting if they acted like Fai and Kurogane...' and BOOM, that's what ended up happening.**

**HebaAce: I'm glad you liked this chapter and thought it was funny! And you will get to see what Ed is like with Daemon around in this chapter so I hope you enjoy it! **

**Crimson Locket: Oh, I'm so sorry you're sick *hands get well card* and yep, you could annoy many people with a puppy suffix!  
><strong>

**A Natsume Yuujinchou Lover: Hey, ANYL! I'm glad you thought it was funny and I SO agree with you about Skull. No offense to him but he's kind of annoying... Sorry about not updating soon though... I have failed you!  
><strong>

* * *

><p><em><strong>~Previously~<strong>_

_**Later that night, Ed looked out his window and at the stars sparkling in the sky.**_

_**"The trial of Daemon is next... I'm really not looking forward to seeing that bastard..." Ed gritted his teeth.**_

* * *

><p>Tsuna awoke slowly, rubbing his eyes. He sat up and looked around, his vision still slightly blurry from sleep.<p>

"Good morning," A voice said.

Tsuna yawned, soon responding, "Good morning... wait..."

Tsuna blinked a few times and everything came into focus. Let's just say, the sight that awaited him shocked him to no end, "Hieee! E-Edward-sensei! Primo! What are you doing here?"

Edward took a sip of the tea he was holding in his hands, Primo doing the same, "Is it that strange to see your immortal teacher/bodyguard having a nice cup of tea in the morning with your long since dead ancestor who is a bunch of flames? I thought you'd be used to things like this by now..."

Giotto laughed at Ed's comment, "Just like old times, huh?"

Ed nodded, sipping his tea again, "Ah, It's been a while since we could talk like this. It kind of reminds me of when-"

"DON'T GO OFF DOWN MEMORY LANE!" Tsuna yelled in frustration, "Why are you here anyway?"

"Well, we were planning to go check on Chrome-chan today, but when I got here, your mom told me that you were still asleep and that I could wait for you to wake up. Giotto over here materialized to keep me company."

Giotto nodded in agreement to his friend's statement.

"Anyway, how can you drink tea! Primo's just sky flames..." Tsuna pointed out.

"Again, I'm immortal and he's your great-great-great-grandfather made out of sky flames that appeared out of a _ring_ to test you and _that's_ what you're asking?" Ed asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Tsuna sighed in defeat, "Okay, I'll just pretend that this is normal and go take a shower like I always do so... just... stay here," Tsuna said, walking out of his room and towards his bathroom.

The room was silent for a few moments before Ed spoke up, "It's really the Mist-Inheritance trial isn't it..."

Giotto nodded, "I'll trust that he'll fulfill his duty..."

"I still don't get why you still qualify that bastard as a friend," Ed muttered, sipping his tea.

Giotto smiled softly at his friend, "Now, now. Watch the language," Giotto chided, "Al would've agreed with me about this."

Ed sighed softly to himself, staring down at the swirling tea within the cup, "Giotto... do you ever wonder why things happen the way they do?"

"What brought about this question?" Giotto asked, quirking a brow at his friend's sudden, off-topic question.

Ed sighed slightly, "It's just that, I've been wondering, would this world be different if I had never been immortal?"

"That is a question we will never know the answer to," Giotto responded, "But one thing I do know, I would've been dead on many occasions if it weren't for you."

Ed laughed slightly, "I could say the same thing to you. Even after you... passed on... you were still saving my ass left and right."

Ignoring Ed's language, Giotto asked, "And how did I help you, pray tell?"

Ed reached his hand and pulled out and old, gold pocket watch, "This right here."

"The pocket watch?" Giotto asked, shocked, "You still have it?"

"Of course I do. This pocket-watch symbolizes a vow of eternal friendship. Something I wouldn't give up for the world..." Ed replied, smiling softly at the time-keeping device, "This thing saved my life a few times. It protected me from a fatal bullet that could've left me paralyzed. Being immortal and paralyzed doesn't seem to fun..."

Giotto smiled, "I'm glad to see you still have it though."

Ed smirked at him, "Yeah, it's nice to have a pocket-watch that has a happy meaning to it."

They both laughed softly, happy that they could talk again like old times.

* * *

><p>The group slowly headed down to Kokuyo Land to see Chrome as everyone was worried more or less about the young girl. While some *cough*Gokudera*cough* were complaining about how Chrome shouldn't make them, more specifically Tsuna, worry about her, Kyoko, Haru, and I-pin defended the female mist guardian saying that something must be troubling Chrome.<p>

Everyone was shocked to see Ken and Chikusa slowly walking down the trail. That is, everyone except Ed who seemed to have found something interesting behind them and had completely turned his back to the group.

After a few words were exchanged about Chrome, Ken looked behind Tsuna in shock, "You guys recruited another girl, byon?

"Another... girl?" Tsuna asked in confusion, looking around, "Could you be talking about Yuni?"

Tsuna gestured to Yuni, only to receive a no from Ken. 'Who could it be then?' Tsuna was startled out of his musings when he heard Gokudera snickering loudly.

"Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna asked in curiosity.

"I think the animal freak might be talking about Elric," Gokudera said between laughs, gesturing to the blonde alchemist who still had his back facing them, "They're mistaking him for a girl probably. Well, he does have a braid."

Tsuna looked at his teacher, slowly connecting the dots as realization hit. Dread passed over his features as he noticed Ed's antennae twitch slightly, 'Oh no...' Tsuna thought in despair.

"Wait, you mean 'she' is a 'he' byon?" Ken asked incredulously, the usually stoic Chikusa face palming beside him.

Ed stood up slowly, turning to face the soon-to-be-dead Ken, "What was that, you animal fetish freak?"

"H-Hey byon!" Ken said in annoyance.

Gokudera laughed loudly, "'Animal fetish freak'? That's a good one!"

Edward charged the unsuspecting Ken and quickly scissor kicked his face, quickly followed by a round house kick into a nearby wall. As Ed continued to beat Ken to a pulp, Chikusa sighed, "I'll be taking my... companion. We have to run some errands," Chikusa walked over to the where the brawl was occurring and quickly grabbed Ken's collar, dragging the kicking and screaming Ken away.

Ed panted heavily, glaring in the direction Ken had been dragged off in, "That circus freak! How dare he call me a girl!"

Gokudera walked over to the still fuming teacher and sighed, "Well, it's not that much of a surprise and all with the braid and how you're so sma-"

"Do you want to finish that sentence, bastard?" Edward questioned menacingly, causing the bomber to flinch back slightly.

"Because you're so... smart. Yeah, Smart!" Gokudera stuttered, "I wasn't going to say anything else whatsoever!"

Ed sighed before turning towards the direction they were originally headed in, all signs of anger gone, "Okay let's go!'

Tsuna stared at him incredulously, 'His personalities flip-flopped again!' he thought.

* * *

><p>When they reached Kokuyo land, everyone was shocked by Chrome's change in demeanor and the three girls present ran to comfort their distressed friend. Kyoko and Haru soon advised that Tsuna and the others leave.<p>

Tsuna began to object, but Reborn shook his head, "There are some problems only girls can understand," Reborn said.

After Yuni said that she would remain to protect them, Tsuna begrudgingly agreed to leaving the group alone.

Once outside in the hall, Ed turned to face the young mafia boss, "Tsunayoshi-kun, I'll stay here just in case. You never know what might happen. I'll stay out here as guard."

Tsuna nodded, "Thanks Edward-sensei."

Edward smiled at the group as he watched them slowly turn and walk off down the hall to leave the abandoned amusement park.

Ed sighed and leaned against the wall, Chrome's words repeating like a broken record in his head, '_I don't want to fight anymore! I'm... S-scared..._'

He was vaguely reminded of the times he spent in Amestris. A rippling pain was sent through his head as a memory of someone flashed through his mind, the person speaking to him, '_I'm scared..._'

Ed fell to the floor, clutching his head in agony. Who was that? Why couldn't he remember? Why did Chrome's words remind him of someone he had apparently long forgotten. He couldn't even tell who it was as the image flashed by too quickly, but Ed had seen an unusual tattoo under the person's eye. His eyes widened in shock, "Could it be?"

* * *

><p><strong>Time Skip<strong>

Ed had been outside the theater of Kokuyo land for who knows how long, silently watching over the girls who remained inside.

Ed felt his heart stop briefly for a second as a presence he knew sickeningly well filled his mind, making his blood boil.

"Daemon..."

Without hesitance, Ed ran into the theater only to see an orb of mist flames trapping the girls. He ran over, pounding his fists on the hardened flames, "Dammit! How could I let this happen!"

The girls looked at him, startled that he was there but still calling to him for help. Ed was too preoccupied with trying to free the trapped girls that he didn't notice their startled expressions. The last thing he heard before everything went black was Yuni's yell, "Look out!"

* * *

><p>Ed slowly blinked his eyes open, ignoring the intense pain rippling through his cranium, "W-what's going on?"<p>

"I see you're finally awake Al. Che. Mist."

Ed looked up and was instantly filled with disgust when he saw the source of the voice, "Daemon, what the fuck are you doing!"

"Oh? Still haven't lost that temper I see," Daemon said smugly.

"You bastard! Answer my question!"

"I'm just reforming your precious friends into the Vongola I see fit," Daemon said, "They need to have power and be merciless enough to crush enemies without hesitation! They need to be able to kill without emotions getting in the way!"

"You know you're sick right?" Ed spat at the man he loathed with a passion, "Trying to get a couple of fifteen to seventeen year olds to learn how to kill and accept it? That's messed up."

"They are in the mafia, alchemist," Daemon said, "It's there job to kill. They can't do that with all those pesky emotions getting in the way."

"Those 'pesky emotions' happen to be their strength. It gives them the power to crush any enemy," Edward said, smirking, "Giotto would've said the same thing."

"Primo was a fool!"

"How dare you say that about Giotto?" Ed growled, "He's saved your ass so many times I've lost track!"

"Wanna' say that again, shrimp?" Daemon threatened.

Ed smirked, he'd gotten the pineapple to crack, "Try me."

* * *

><p><strong>LunarFallenStar: And that's where I'll end it! Sorry for not updating sooner. I blame it on my computer cause it kind of exploded so I have to use my brother's computer now and he's difficult... well anyway, please R&amp;R and I hoped you all liked it~!<br>**


	19. Chapter 19

**LunarFallenStar: Hey guys! I'm back from Vacation and I finished this chapter as soon as I got back. I would also like to announce that I have created a poll on my profile about whether or not I should create a story about Ed's time with the first generation Vongola. You can also say if you would like it or not in a review and could even suggest a title as I haven't thought of anything. Thank you for reading and all of the reviews. I hope you like this chapter. Oh and yay! I'm so happy I hit 100 reviews! Thank you so much you guys and I'm so happy you enjoy this story! I'm really, really, really glad! You guys are awesome! Cyber cookies for everyone!**

**UniCryin: Oh, Ed will kick Daemon's ass! Don't you worry. I'm glad you liked when Ken thought Ed was a girl.**

**Archsage328: I am laughing at how you said Daemon and Envy are both related to plants! That was hilarious! I agree, they are both superb villains. I'm glad you liked the part with Ed and Giotto in Tsuna's room and you are so right! Tsuna's reactions are always hilarious. Oh, being sane is such a drag sometimes. And the thing with Ed promoting pairings and stuff like that is a brilliant idea! I'll try to use it too! P.S. I am a fan of Kyoko and Tsuna as well.**

**HebaAce: Glad you liked it. And don't worry, their will be a fight scene with Ed and Daemon... I can't say how good it will be though so I'm sorry if I let you down on that... Anyway, thanks for the review and I'm glad I kept Tsuna in character!**

**SunshineAndMoonlight: Thanks for the review! Ed knows about Daemon's love (I totally forgot her name as well) I just figured that Ed would be mad at Daemon because I feel like Daemon misinterpreted his love's last wish so Ed lost all respect for him because of that. At least, that's how I believed Ed would react.**

**CrimsonLocket: Glad you liked the chapter. And about the bullet. I believe it would've paralyzed him temporarily and not to mention it would've hurt a hell of a lot. And you never know, Ed might have a history with Byakuran after all. I know my brother picks on me a lot too, but like you, we are getting along better now. I keep up to date on the manga and you are SO not the only one! I'm so excited!**

**One of the Colorless: Thanks for the review! And you'll have to read to find out if it was Byakuran or not.**

**A Natsume Yuujinchou Lover: Hi ANYL, thanks for the review and you didn't fail me! I'm just glad you read my story! I'm glad you liked the tea scene with Ed and Giotto! Oh and with the flashback thing, it is from the first season. And don't worry, I didn't really like the first anime adaption either. I'm glad you liked it and here's the update! Oh and my computer didn't 'explode' per say, it kinda' sparked and a small fire and a lot of smoke started coming out of it. My room still smells like smoke...**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~Previously~<br>**_

_**"Primo was a fool!"**_

_**"How dare you say that about Giotto?" Ed growled, "He's saved your ass so many times I've lost track!"**_

_**"Wanna' say that again, shrimp?" Daemon threatened.**_

_**Ed smirked, he'd gotten the pineapple to crack, "Try me."**_

* * *

><p>Ed shot his right fist forward, only to have it caught by Daemon, "Uh, uh, uh," Daemon chided as if in warning, "Should you really be interfering with the inheritance test when you yourself are part of the first generation?"<p>

Ed smirked, "I'll be pummeling your ass on behalf of the tenth generation this time."

Daemon was shocked for a moment, letting his guard down briefly, but that was enough for Edward. Ed quickly pulled his left leg back, round-house kicking Daemon hard in the side, sending the mist user into a nearby wall. Ed ignited the flame on his head and charged with renewed vigor at the illusionist.

Ed picked Daemon out of the rubble of the wall, hoisting him up by his collar. Daemon winced slightly at the pain erupting through his back. **(A/N: Still not really sure if he can feel pain or not considering he's flames, but to keep with the story, I'll say yes. After all, that will make Ed beating him to a pulp all the more enjoyable)**

Without missing a beat, Ed threw Daemon across the room with brute force, "Giotto might still consider you his friend, but that doesn't mean I will. I lost all respect for you the day you betrayed Giotto."

Daemon slowly got up, stumbling slightly. Looking at the blonde standing before him, he smirked slightly, "Guess I'll have to get serious then..."

Without another word, Daemon summoned a staff, making it out of Mist flames. He charged forward, extending his arm, diagonally slashing out the staff into Ed's gut, knocking the wind out of the alchemist.

Ed stumbled back, but lost all balance when Daemon kicked him over the head, sending Ed crashing to the floor. Edward spit out the blood formed from his split lip and quickly back-flipped away to gain distance between him and the (most likely) legally insane Daemon Spade.

After regaining his breath, Ed used his flames to transmute his arm into a blade. he blade emerged quickly, ripping through the fake skin like covering that hid his automail from view. Ed charged once more, raising his arm and bringing it down, Daemon narrowly blocking it. The mist flames that made up Daemon's staff began to crack before shattering completely, allowing Ed to slash right through the illusionist.

The blonde alchemist smirked, waiting for Daemon to appear again. Like he predicted, Daemon appeared behind him, a new staff in his hands. Daemon swung down the staff, but Ed dodged with ease, flipping over the top of it and using the weapon as a step-stool as the alchemist flipped over Daemon's head. Now behind the mist user, Ed quickly put Daemon in a choke hold, kicking Daemon's legs out from under him.

Daemon gritted his teeth, choking slightly before elbowing Ed in the gut causing the Alchemist to gasp in surprise and pain. After they both caught their breath, they stood up, glaring at their opponent.

* * *

><p><strong>Time Skip<strong>

Ed didn't know for sure how long he had been fighting Daemon, but he knew it had been going on for a while. He looked at his beaten and bloodied opponent who was breathing heavily, as was he. Ed charged forward, going into a hand stand and spinning, lashing out his legs to kick Daemon multiple times. When he began to lose momentum, he stopped, performing a back hand spring which caused Ed to kick Daemon once more before he stood once more.

Ed glared at the annoying pineapple who appeared to be growing tired. Ed charged, football tackling the illusionist into a nearby wall, only this time as opposed to just colliding with the structure, Daemon went crashed straight through it, leaving a gaping hole in his wake.

Ed was surprised when he heard a high pitched yell, "Hieee!"

"Tsunayoshi-kun?" Ed panted, surprised. He rushed forward and into the other room, surprised to find the group gathered in the theater where he had been before Daemon had captured him. He was relieved to see that the girls were free. His eyes soon landed on Daemon's form, slumped on the ground and slowly disappearing.

Ed looked around suspiciously, knowing how Daemon would be re-materializing soon. Like he had thought, Daemon appeared once more, wielding yet another staff. Ed gritted his teeth.

"This isn't a good development at all... It seems I have underestimated you all," Daemon said, "You even broke through my illusion. It looks like I'll have to get serious as well. It seems I'll have to beat these ideals into your brain through force."

Ed watched as Daemon charged at Tsuna, both appearing to be equally matched. For most of this confrontation, Ed just zoned out as Daemon was spouting out his propaganda about how emotions are a hindrance and he was trying to reform the Vongola and make it stronger. Ed gained interest quickly however when Tsuna became trapped in an illusion and accidentally fired at Haru, Kyoko, I-pin, Yuni, and Chrome, causing none other than Mukuro to appear instead of Chrome. Mukuro easily blocked the weakened X-Burner and successfully protected the girls.

At first, it appeared like he would fight Daemon, and that's what Daemon thought he would do, so when Mukuro let Tsuna attack, Daemon was taken by surprise. Daemon narrowly dodged all of Tsuna's attacks as the young mafia boss was attacking with renewed vigor. The fight quickly finished when Tsuna unleashed an X-Burner upon Daemon, causing the illusionist to disappear once more.

Ed sighed and waited for Daemon to appear again, knowing he would. Tsuna caught onto this as well, "Daemon, you are still out there. Show yourself!"

"Geez, take it easy," Daemon said, appearing to the side of them, "I no longer intend to fight you," Daemon turned to Mukuro, "You are quite interesting, but I guess you are worthy of my inheritance, guardian of the Vongola mist ring."

"I'd prefer it if you didn't use that title," Mukuro said, laughing his usual creepy laugh, "It's not something I chose myself."

"Oh? And why are you here then?" Daemon asked with interest.

"To target Sawada Tsunayoshi more easily," Daemon stated.

Daemon chuckled, "And what do you plan on doing once you eliminate him?"

"To destroy the mafia," Mukuro replied, before adding, "And take over the world."

Tsuna looked taken aback before deadpanning at the reply. Ed stared at the mist guardian, thinking to himself, '_So he's _that_ kind of guy_...'

Ed looked back and forth between the two mist users who were chuckling. After a few moments, Ed thought to himself, '_Are they communicating through creepy laughs or something?_'

After a few moments filled with creepy laughter, a torrent of Sky flames appeared in the darkness of the room, soon morphing into none other than the Vongola Primo, Giotto.

"Thank you for fulfilling your duty, Daemon," Giotto said politely, "Could you please give him his inheritance now?"

Daemon laughed dryly for a second, "You're a fool if you think I'm doing this for you."

"Wanna' repeat that you freaky pineapple!" Ed roared preparing to charge the mist user. He would've made it if Yamamoto hadn't intervened and hoisted the blonde alchemist into the air.

"Ed-sensei, calm down," Yamamoto said chuckling.

"Hey! Put me down!" Ed struggled against Yamamoto's grip, "Have you ever heard of respect for your elders!"

While Ed was throwing his tantrum, Daemon chuckled, "It appears even time can't calm his little anger issue."

Mukuro looked at Tsuna, speaking to the young mafia boss, "Vongola, I will trust you with Chrome, but if anything happens to her, there will be hell to pay."

Tsuna gulped, nodding quickly as Mukuro disappeared revealing Chrome. She stumbled slightly, causing Tsuna to run forward, catching the weakened girl before she collapsed.

"Chrome-chan," Tsuna said, "Are you okay?"

Chrome nodded slightly, "Yes, boss."

"Can you take out your Vongola box?" Tsuna requested politely, "Daemon Spade said he would give you his inheritance."

Chrome nodded once more and quickly pulled the small, indigo box from her jacket.

"I hereby bequeath the Vongola mist guardian with my inheritance," Daemon said, turning into a torrent of mist flames, a small ball of flame shooting itself towards the indigo box.

After Daemon was gone, Yamamoto placed Ed on the floor once more, quickly being knocked to the ground when the short-tempered blonde kicked his feet out from under him.

Ed sighed, walking over to where Giotto stood.

"What would you like me to do?" Tsuna asked Giotto,"I still haven't completed my trial."

Giotto looked back over his shoulder at Tsuna, "You have already passed all my expectations, Decimo. I am assured that you still have a well of potential yet to be discovered. I hereby bequeath you with my inheritance and utmost approval."

Giotto smiled, a small orb of sky flames shooting towards Tsuna and going into the small orange box carried by the teen.

"Shall we go, Edward?" Giotto asked walking through the doorway.

Ed nodded, "I'll be happy to see you off."

Ed followed one of his closest friends through the doorway, leaving the rejoicing group to themselves, no one noticing his departure.

* * *

><p>Ed and Giotto walked into the small clearing in the forest, soon spotting Daemon. Ed huffed in annoyance, looking away from the mist user who was currently checking his watch.<p>

"You still have it?" Giotto asked in amazement as he saw the golden pocket watch in Daemon's hands, "I guess that means you still consider us your friends as well."

"You truly are a fool, Primo," Daemon said before disappearing.

Ed huffed once more, "The nerve of some people."

Giotto ignored his companion's obvious annoyance and turned to the woods, "Everyone, let's go."

One by one, the first generation guardians appeared beside Giotto.

"I guess this is goodbye," Ed said smiling softly, "It really is boring without you guys. Sure, the tenth generation is a blast, but nothing beats the time I spend with you guys."

Asari smiled at Ed warmly, "I agree with you completely."

G smirked, "Don't get all sappy, Elric, or have you just gotten soft?"

Ed gritted his teeth, "What did you call me! Oh, and you owe me fifteen dollars 'cause they passed all of your trials, so cough up flame brain!"

"Shut up, fullmetal pipsqueak!"

"Now, now," Asari said, stepping between the two, "Don't fight. Let's part ways with joy."

"Fine," Ed grumbled stepping back.

"Anyway, bye Chibi," Lampo said, walking up to Edward, "It's not as fun with you around, but see you later."

"I'll ignore the nickname for right now," Ed said, "But I will get you back when I see you again."

"Yeah," Lampo agreed, disappearing in a rush of lightning flames.

Ed smirked, slowly inching over to Alaude, "Hey, 'laude-pon! You're not saying goodbye to me?"

"Stop with the nicknames!" Alaude growled.

"But your reactions are so funny I just can't stop, Alaude-tan!" Ed chuckled, smirking evilly.

Alaude reached into his jacket, slowly pulling out a pair of handcuffs. His movements stopped however, when a hand was placed on his hand.

"Please resolve this peacefully," Knuckle said, "God condones us to come to peaceful solutions."

"I see you're extremely religious as always," Ed said, facing the Sun guardian.

"And I see you are still extremely obstinate against converting," Knuckle sighed.

Ed chuckled, "Yep."

"I guess we'll be taking our EXTREME leave now," Knuckle said, smiling, "I hope that our paths will cross again."

Ed nodded, "Don't worry. We'll see each other soon."

Alaude grunted in reply while Knuckle grinned widely, both disappearing in a torrent of their respective class of flames.

Asari chuckled at the scene before him, "You're still the only one who can get a rise out of Alaude."

Ed smirked at his friend, "I tend to have that sort of effect on people."

Asari smiled, "You do leave a unique impression on people. I look forward to seeing you again."

"And when I do see you again, I expect to hear some more of your music. I hope you've come up with new material, because I've already memorized every other song you have."

Asari smiled, "I hope my music will not disappoint you when that day comes."

"It could never disappoint me," Ed smiled at Asari.

Asari nodded and looked around at the three people remaining, "I bid you all farewell then."

When the rain flames had dissipated, G spoke up, "I guess I'll be leaving next."

Ed smirked, "I guess I'll see you later then."

G nodded, "I will get back at you for all of those stunts you pulled."

"I won't hold my breath," Ed replied, "Who knows when you'll be back."

G chuckled in response and thought, '_You'll eat those words, Elric._'

"Bye," Ed said, "I'll miss seeing your ego all the time."

"Yeah, yeah," G muttered, "Bye."

The form of G disappeared in swirling Storm flames.

Ed sighed and turned to Giotto, "This is always the saddest part of seeing people I've been apart from for a long time..."

"What is?" Giotto asked.

"Saying goodbye..." Ed muttered, "It's like I'm being left behind all over again..."

Giotto smiled softly, "It was good seeing you again, Edward-kun."

"Yeah. It was nice to be able to talk to you like old times. I just hope I'll see you again," Ed smiled softly.

"Don't worry..." Giotto said, "We are always right by you."

"Do you know how cliche that is?" Edward questioned.

"I know it is, but I'm serious," Giotto said, "The ring you possess, the one that represents your place in the Vongola, it is like ours. It holds the first generations will within it. I'm sure you could easily use it to communicate with us. I'm not positive, but you are someone who could accomplish anything"

Ed smiled, "I'll take your word for it. Until next time, Giotto."

Ed watched silently as Giotto slowly disappeared, "Good bye, Ed."

As the flames dissipated, Ed sighed, "I was right... this is the hardest part."

* * *

><p>The next day, everyone returned to the future to face Byakuran and restore the balance to the chaotic universe.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>LunarFallenStar: And done! I hope you all liked this chapter! I also hope the first generation was in character! Till next time! Stay tuned and R&amp;R please!<strong>


	20. Chapter 20

**LunarFallenStar: Hey guys! Here's the new chapter and I hope you all like it! I plan to update this chapter every Tuesday from now on! Wish me luck. And also, I would like to announce that I've released a prequel of this story of Ed's time with the first Generation Vongola family. It's called 'Fullmetal Bodyguard'. Thank you all for reading and reviewing this story!**

**CrimsonLocket: Ciaossu~! Thanks for the review and I posted a prequel earlier today so yay I finally did it! And I totally agree that they need to update the manga faster. I'm anxious! And 'Tyki-pon' LOL -Man is awesome! You can never watch too much of it!**

**HebaAce: Thanks for the review and I'm glad it didn't disappoint. I was worried. And, I will again say, amazing title suggestions~! I posted the prequel earlier today so I hope you like it! BTW, I used your title suggestion and it's 'Fullmetal Bodyguard'.**

**archsage328: Yep, I totally agree with you. And LOL at the booyah part. I watched Teen Titans all the time when I was a bit younger, aah the memories. I would always go over to my neighbor's house and sit in his living room with him and watch it everyday after school (we would always pretend to be our favorite characters. I was raven and he was beast boy, his little sister was Starfire while my bro was Robin) . And being sane is so much more difficult so I join you in being a self-proclaimed crazy person :). You are right, yay for pairings. And since you brought it up, I _definitely _plan to have Ed tease Tsuna (mainly) about Kyoko and vice versa.**

**Lightning of Sentinels: Thanks for the review! Glad you liked the chapter! I hope you'll like this chapter as well!**

**SunshineAndMoonlight: Thanks for the review! And I hope you enjoy this chapter when they continue their adventure in the future.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~Previously~<strong>_

_**The next day, everyone returned to the future to face Byakuran and restore the balance to the chaotic universe.**_

* * *

><p>The group had arrived earlier that day at Vongola HQ. The atmosphere was tense as everyone prepared for the inevitable battle ahead. Well, it was tense to everyone but a certain blonde alchemist.<p>

Ed was currently lying down in his bed in his temporary room, sleeping away. A large explosion violently shook the base, causing aforementioned blonde to fall out of his bed and flat on his face. Ed stood up, rubbing his nose in pain. He growled in anger, having been awoken from his peaceful slumber. To make it worse, he heard Squalo's voice yelling loudly outside.

An evil aura surrounded Ed as he stormed outside. Sleep was something Ed valued highly. **Warning: the following scene will contain a lot of crude language from a certain blonde alchemist. Reader discretion is advised.**

Now outside in the hallway, Ed growled and yelled loudly, "Who the fuck caused this damn explosion! I was trying to get some fucking sleep after tacking care of your sorry asses!"

While Ed continued to yell out curses and expletives, Squalo looked at him incredulously, "He's like... Xanxus..."

Everyone whipped their heads around when an unfamiliar voice spoke up, "Idjits, we've found you... Yuni-sama."

Ed growled as he stared at him, "YOU! You ass-wipe! You are the one who caused that fucking explosion and woke me up from my damn nap which I very much needed after a brutal period of time of taking care of their asses! Then you come waltzing in here with your damn explosions and your stupid slurring and shit, woke me up and now I want my fucking revenge for that and falling on my face!"

"Edward-sensei! He's Zakuro!" Tsuna squealed in horror, "One of the six funeral wreaths!"

"Oh?" Ed asked, still angry, "That gives me even more reason to kick his sorry ask back to the town he burned down and pay his respects to all the people he murdered! **(A/N: He's talking about how Byakuran asked him to prove his loyalty so Zakuro burned down his home town with a magma flow just in case you forgot) **And after I'm done, you can crawl your beaten, sorry ass right back to that ero, marshmallow addict bastard who you call a boss and tell him how Edward-fucking-Elric handed your ass to you on a silver platter and that he's next on the list!"

"Edward-sensei!" Tsuna gasped in horror.

"I'd like to see you try," Zakuro smirked.

In the blink of an eye, Zakuro was on his butt looking up at Ed in shock. Ed was growling maniacally, popping his knuckles one by one, "I'm going to enjoy this..."

The flame on Ed's forehead lit up, causing him to grin widely and transmute his automail blade, looking even more menacing than usual. That was until Gokudera ran forward and dragged Ed back, "Elric, get a hold of yourself!"

"You let go of me you piece of Octopus shit!" Ed growled, "I need to make that bastard pay for waking me up! I value my sleep and he had it coming to him dammit!"

"What's wrong with Edward-sensei..." Tsuna asked Reborn, looking utterly horrified.

"His flip has been switched..." Reborn said evenly.

"What?" Tsuna asked in confusion.

"He's gone into rage only mode," Reborn said, "I've heard about how Vongola Primo's bodyguard, when something important to him was interrupted, he'd go into a severely violent and angered state... I never knew it would be this bad though."

As Edward struggled against Gokudera's grip, Squalo walked ahead, "I'll handle this guy, you go on ahead."

Reborn nodded and faced his group, "There is no argument, we're leaving now."

Yamamoto walked over and helped Gokudera drag Ed away, kicking and screaming.

The group quickly rounded up (The girls, excluding Lal and Bianchi who were used to Ed's course language and anger, were shocked by Ed's change in demeanor) and left the base, the Arcobaleno being protected by a new cover for their pacifiers that would protect them against the energy that weakened them. **  
><strong>

By the time they got outside, Ed had calmed down, feeling the urgency of the situation, but he swore he would punch Zakuro in the face when he next got the chance.

Now sombre, Ed began to listen to the conversation currently being held. They were currently discussing where they would go to hide and protect Yuni.

Ed turned to see Tsuna sigh, apparently giving in to whatever Haru had suggested, "Fine, we'll go see the realtor..."

Ed looked back at the base when the ground began to shake, muttering softly, "Not good..."

"GET DOWN!" Someone yelled, causing everyone to hit the dirt as a torrent of flames and explosions rushed overhead. Above the sound of the explosions, Squalo's voice could be heard, "VOI!"

When the noise subsided, Squalo's voice was heard once more, "Take Yuni and run... get as far away as you can!"

As if on cue, fire and clouds of smoke spewed out from nearby buildings, "Those are were the vents leading to Vongola HQ are located!" Giannini said in worry.

Yamamoto attempted to run in after Squalo, but was stopped by Reborn. Tsuna turned to Haru, and said, urgency evident in his voice, "Haru! Where is the realtor?"

"On fifth avenue, which is very close," Haru replied quickly, "It's just passed the shopping district!"

"There's no time to lose, let's go!" Bianchi said in upmost urgency.

"R-right!" Tsuna replied before turning to leave, gesturing for everyone to do the same, "RUN!"

Everyone took off, the flames of the burning HQ at their backs.

* * *

><p><strong>LunarFallenStar: And done! Hope you all liked it and I apologize about Ed's... crude... language. Please R&amp;R and stay tuned for the next chapter! Bye bye~!<strong>


	21. Chapter 21

**LunarFallenStar: Hey guys! I plan to update this story every Tuesday along with it's partner fic 'Fullmetal Bodyguard', however, I will not be able to update anything next week as I will be at a camp in Michigan with my Youth Group for the week (7-9 hour bus ride and we get to leave at 3 o'clock in the morning...) It's a longer chapter just for you, but it's not as long as it looks though, because I have a little extra thingy at the end. It's not a funny omake or anything like that, but just thought I let you know. Anyway, thanks for all the kind reviews and the such! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Crimsonlocket: Rejoice! for Mr. Kawahira is in this chapter, albeit briefly because as I will explain in the ending author's note while I was typing, my Microsoft Word quit for some reason and everything I happened to be typing which was around the Kawahira point was deleted so its rushed. I'll probably go back later and change it, but I want to keep to my update schedule because I've been doing a horrible job so far overall... and I share your feelings, Tsuna is growing up... and the -man manga is exciting with the whole 14th noah!Allen going on... I hope you like this chapter.**

**UniCryin: Thanks for the review and I'm glad you liked Ed in that chapter! I've gotten positive feedback from my friends who read it (They just tell me in person...) and I plan to use Rage mode Ed more, but not excessively. He will briefly go into rage mode in this chapter mainly because of Zakuro appearing at the shop and stuff.**

**Elaniza: Thanks for the review and I'm glad you liked Rage Mode Ed :)**

**Lightning of Sentinels: Thanks for the review! And I'm pleasantly surprised with all the comments on Ed in this chapter. I had a guilty pleasure righting him all ragey and stuff. Glad you liked the warning and yes, everything involving Ed probably needs a warning label on it.**

**HebaAce: Thanks for the review and I'm super glad you liked the chapter! And LOL. I'm like Ed when I loose sleep too. Mainly because I'm not a morning person and unfortunately for me, I end up staying up to late either drawing or writing because I lose track of time. My mom always ends up walking in to see why I'm still asleep and I get grumpy because I didn't get enough sleep and my 'rage mode' activates. And I'm glad you liked me using your title suggestion.**

**SunshineAndMoonlight: Thanks for the review and I'm glad you liked 'rage mode' Ed! To answer your question I will definitely be continuing into the Shimon arc. I'm actually already planning some of it out.**

* * *

><p><strong><em>~Previously<em> **

_**"There's no time to lose, let's go!" Bianchi said in upmost urgency.**_

_**"R-right!" Tsuna replied before turning to leave, gesturing for everyone to do the same, "RUN!"**_

_**Everyone took off, the flames of the burning HQ at their backs.**_

* * *

><p>The group ran through town, heading to where the realtor's home was located.<p>

"This way!" Haru called back to her friends, "Kawahira realtor is just around the corner."

Hearing the name of the realtor, Tsuna's mind was racing, '_Kawahira? I think I've heard that name before..._'

"We've made it!" Haru said, reaching the building.

Haru walked forward and grasped the door handle, but when it wouldn't open, she gasped, "Hahi?"

Banging on the door in panic, Haru called through the thin material of the door, "Please open up! Grandmother **(A/N: Not here real grandma)**! It's Haru!"

After banging on the door for a while, it suddenly slid open, sending the unsuspecting Haru crashing to the ground.

"Haru-chan!" Kyoko called, kneeling beside her friend, "Are you alright!"

"Sorry to break it to ya'," An unknown voice said, "But the grandmother you're looking for kicked the bucket three years ago."

"EH?" Tsuna gasped in shock.

"Oh but," The voice said, slurping his ramen, "She was all smiles when she kicked the bucket, so there's no need for sympathy."

"Th-That's!" Tsuna said, panicking, "Our last savior has died?"

"Whatever shall we do!" Haru said, mirroring Tsuna's panic.

"What are you standing around for, you lot?" The man said, "Hurry up and get inside. You're being chased, are you not?"

"How do you know about that?" Tsuna questioned.

"Wait a sec..." Gokudera said in suspicion, eyeing the white-haired man with glasses wearily.

"Maybe our pounding upon his door gave him a clue," Ed chimed in.

"There now," The man said, "Don't worry, I'll take care of the real six funeral wreaths for you."

"WHAT?" Tsuna yelled in shock.

"I'd like to retract my previous statement," Ed chimed in once more.

"Now hurry up..." The man said, "I'll explain everything later."

"This guy is very suspicious," Gokudera said.

The man slowly lifted his leg before kicking both Gokudera and Tsuna inside the building, "There now, for the moment... just believe in your old man, Uncle Kawahira. Forgive me for that, both my hands are preoccupied."

Tsuna and Gokudera stared at each other, both pondering where they had heard the name Kawahira before. Their eyes widened and they snapped their heads to I-Pin when they realized her future self delivered ramen to him all the time.

"Hurry up and get inside," Kawahira said, still eating his ramen, "Hide behind the furniture."

While everyone shuffled inside, Yuni turned to face him, "I thank you for your kindness."

"Don't mention it," Kawahira smiled, "Get inside quickly."

Once the group was inside, they quickly went to different hiding places. Edward plopped down beside Tsuna and Yamamoto and sighed.

Silence settled over the room as everyone grew quiet, not daring to make a sound. Their hearts raced as the adrenaline surged through their veins.

After a few agonizing minutes passed by, the door slammed open. Everyone stiffened as adrenaline flooded their veins with full force.

"Tch, How troublesome," A gruff voice said, "I'll just have to burn down one house after the next until I smoke them out.

Edward retreated into his mind as he pondered why the voice sounded familiar, '_Why does that horribly annoying, slurring voice sound so familiar... why does it make me so subcon__sciously angry? Wait a minute... It's that flame-brained bastard Zakuro who woke me up from my fucking nap!_'

Ed's eyes snapped open in anger when he realized who the voice belonged to. He only saw red as he prepared to stand up and yell, rage-only mode switched on. He would've succeeded if it wasn't for Yamamoto and Tsuna latching onto the blonde and their hands covering his mouth.

Ed decided not to struggle too badly at least. After what felt like an eternity, the door slammed open once more and footsteps (most likely Zakuro's) hurried outside. They all visibly relaxed when they heard Zakuro's yelling voice fading off in the distance.

"The real six funeral wreaths are gone," Kawahira said, returning to the room, "I think you'll be safe for a while at least."

Ed crawled out from his hiding place and sat down on the couch, ignoring everyone, brooding on his rage.

Kyoko and Haru looked at the teacher incredulously when he muttered curses and the like under his breath.

"Is... is he okay?" Kyoko asked slowly.

"He's just in rage mode..." Reborn said, "It appears to be more of a passive rage though. He might snap if we get on his nerves so just ignore him for now."

"Don't say things like that so nonchalantly," Tsuna yelled quietly at his tutor.

Ed stared at the wall and crossed his arms, thoughts running through his mind like wild fire, '_That bastard... they didn't let me kick his ass the first time, but when he comes waltzing back in here, right into my clutches... I DON'T GET TO RIP HIS FUCKING HEAD OFF!_' Ed thought angrily, gnashing his teeth together, '_I will get my revenge... mark my words..._'

Edward watched in mild amusement when Reborn pointed a gun at the back of Kawahira's head. When the white haired male finally left, Edward went back to his thoughts, all entertainment gone.

As Ed plotted his revenge, Yamamoto suited up to return to the base.

"You're really going back to the base, Yamamoto," Tsuna asked, "No matter what we say?"

Yamamoto nodded, "Yep, sorry, but you're not going to stop me. This is Squalo we're talking about. He's probably fine, but I just want to check."

Tsuna sighed softly, "I guess you're right... I'm sorry... we can't go with you, but..."

"Don't worry, he has us," Bianchi said.

"I'll lead him straight to the base's secret entrance," Giannini said, grinning widely.

"Me too," Spanner lazily added, usual sucker in his mouth.

"Eh?" Tsuna shrieked in surprise.

Everyone said their goodbyes... well, except for Edward who was still coming up with his evil plans.

Tsuna turned to his favorite teacher on the couch, "Edward, they're leaving now, aren't you going to say anything?"

"Not now, I'm working on my evil plans," Ed replied nonchalantly, "I need to figure out the most painful way to open up a can of Kick-Ass all over that Bastard Zakuro..."

"Don't say scary stuff like that so calmly!" Tsuna yelled.

Tsuna's eyes widened in realization. He whipped around quickly to face the group that was leaving, "You're going back to HQ right?"

The group nodded, expecting some serious message or something like that when Ed's eyes narrowed dangerously, "If you see any funeral wreaths out there..."

The tension was building, everyone staring at the blonde alchemist, waiting for his next words.

"Stay away from them because I get to pound their faces in! I'm working on a plan of great magnitude. Speaking of which, I need you to get these items for me while you are out there."

Cue falling anime style.

Edward handed a piece of paper to Yamamoto who read it over quickly before staring at Ed incredulously, "Um... Ed-sensei, you do realize you have a llama, a skateboard, a jar of peanut butter, a radio, and a paper shredder on this list?"

"Fine! Forget the list!" Ed said, ripping the paper in half, "Just stay away from those dead-beats because I want first shot at them!"

"Edward-sensei," Tsuna said softly, "You do realize Hibari-san has already defeated Daisy... right?"

"...What...?" Edward asked after a long pause.

Reborn turned to the group, "You might want to leave when he's distracted."

The group nodded and slid the door open slightly, peeking through to view the streets.

"It's all clear," Yamamoto said, "I don't sense any hostility."

"Let's go," Bianchi said, before turning back around, "Take care of Yuni."

They were about to take off when Lambo came rushing out, "The great Lambo wants to play with you!"

"Idiot cow," Gokudera said, picking him up, "Don't go outside."

The group that was heading for the base turned to the door and opened it once more, running out stealthily into the street. They went into the back alleys and disappeared into the shadows.

When the door slid closed, Tsuna shivered slightly, '_Just now... did I? No, I must just be imagining things..._'

Ed snapped out of his anger-only mode when he felt the faint presence of mist-flames drifting into the room. His eyes narrowed dangerously and just to be safe, he moved closer to Yuni, just in case a surprise attack was under way.

* * *

><p><strong>LunarFallenStar: And done! I was very mad halfway through because I had been typing away and was at a part I was really into and Microsoft failed and quit on me. All the stuff I had been typing DISAPPEARED! I tried everything to get back the part I had been typing... but I couldn't. So the retyped version is a lot worse than what I originally had typed... A bit of advice... save regularly...<strong>

**Okay, so this idea popped into my mind randomly and I really don't have a way to put it into the story and I just decided to put it as an extra at the end of this chapter, so basically it is the 'funeral' of Tsuna ten years later even though he isn't dead because he was put into a deep sleep so that the plan to take down the Millefiore can take place. This popped into my head because my friend, Jennifer, sent me a link to a sad KHR video where it shows everyone crying over Tsuna's coffin and after getting over my sadness, I'm like, "I have an idea!" So this is what I came up with. It's just an extra and has basically nothing to do with the story except that Ed is there too, so hope you like it.**

**Extra: (Warning: It's a little long for an 'exra')**

The wind blew softly, caressing everyone present. The sun shown brightly in the sky, greatly clashing with the downtrodden mood of the small group in the small forest clearing.

Delicate, white flower petals drifted through the air, carried by the gentle wind. The clearing was dotted with people, donned in black attire and mourning faces.

The breeze flitted through the trees and their branches, creating a melancholic tune. Everyone's eyes were fixed upon the relatively large casket lying open upon the ground before them.

Beautiful, white flowers filled the coffin almost completely, leaving only enough space for a body. Specifically, the body of Sawada Tsunayoshi, Vongola Decimo. His spiky, yet soft chestnut hair rustled softly in the breeze, framing his face perfectly. He was clothed in the traditional mantle, much similar to Vongola Primo's in appearance. His arms were crossed over his stomach. His large, chestnut eyes that were once filled with so much emotion and love, were closed forever.

Lying there, he looked so peaceful, but those around him were far from it. While a few weren't crying, everyone's eyes were filled with a variety of emotions: sadness, remorse, guilt, shock... the list goes on.

A young girl with long, chestnut locks stared at the unmoving body of Tsuna, her eyes wide in shock and mouth agape. When the shock settled in, she closed her eyes as multiple tears fell. Kyoko's hands covered her eyes as soft wails of sadness escaped her usually smiling lips.

Standing beside her with their arms wrapped around Kyoko, was a girl with short, dark hair, much similar to Tsuna's mom's in likeness. Her shock was held in to a greater degree, but present all the same. Her eyes were cloudy as she stared at the body of her childhood crush. Closing her eyes as well, shimmering tears descended from her eyes, plopping to the ground below her. Gentle sobs began to rack Haru's petite frame.

A young woman with an eyepatch and long hair stood beside them, her lip quivering slightly. Letting out a shaky breath, her eyes closed slightly, remaining only a little open to gaze at her boss. Tears began to brim Chrome's eyes as she looked on, muttering softly, "Boss..."

Farther away from the coffin, a man with short, raven hair stood with his hands shoved into his pockets. His head faced the ground, but was watching the scene from the corner of his eyes. No tears or emotion showed on his face, but the sadness was evident as the strict prefect's, Hibari Kyoya's, shoulders hunched ever so slightly as opposed to his usual proud demeanor. A small frown graced his thin lips and his eyes closed in remorse.

A little ways beside him, with his back to the scene, stood a man with a pineapple-hair style and a long ponytail. The man's demeanor was the same as Hibari's, stature not as proud as it once was. Mukuro craned his head over his shoulder to stare at the coffin, closing his eyes slightly as his mouth curled into a small frown.

Standing closer to the coffin was a youth with curly black hair and horns, a strange marking under one of his eyes. He bravely fought back tears as he saw his big brother figure lying in the dismal black casket. A memory flashed through his mind of when he was a child. Tsuna stood above him, smiling brightly, placing a piece of grape candy in his outstretched palm. Lambo closed his eyes, a tear finally escaping and falling out of his eyes, "Tsuna-nii..."

A man stood by the coffin, a bandaid covering the bridge of his nose and a long scar marring his temple. He stared at the casket in shock, eyes wide. The loud boxer was, for once, utterly silent. To offer comfort to the crying Lambo, he placed his hand on the youth's shoulder. Ryohei looked to the ground and shut his eyes, eyebrows furrowing as he began to frown.

Another figure of a man stood by the coffin as well, his dark brown eyes filled with remorse. A small scar was located along his chin. He looked at the motionless body of Tsuna, one of his best friends, and his eyes filled with sorrow and regret. A memory raced through his mind about how Tsuna had saved him when he had broken his arm and thought he had nothing to live for. The brunette had dived for him when he had jumped off the roof, Tsuna risking his own life. Yamamoto closed his eyes as the corners of his lips twisted down slightly.

Beside the coffin was a man with silver hair and emerald eyes that once held so much fire, but now only held guilt and sadness. As the melancholic emerald eyes gazed at his precious boss' lifeless form, he couldn't help the new wave of sadness that washed over him. Gokudera closed his eyes as tears began to brim in the pools of emerald, lips curving into a frown to bite back the tears that threatened to spill over at any second.

The last figure by the coffin was a man, looking about eighteen, with long golden hair in a ponytail and golden eyes. No tears were evident upon his features, but the sadness was present. The once bright golden eyes were dull with sadness. He stared at Tsuna, one of his favorite students and the one who was like a little brother to him. Edward's golden eyes slowly closed as he bit his lip, fighting back the sadness that threatened to overwhelm him.

One by one, the figures left as it grew later and later in the day. Gokudera, being one of the last to leave, turned around to see the lone figure standing by the coffin.

Edward stood by the coffin, staring at the peaceful face of Tsuna. He gritted his teeth, and let out a shaky breath, "Another friend whom I couldn't save... I'm sorry... Tsuna..."

Gokudera stared at the blonde whose gaze averted to the sky. The bomber's eyes watched as multiple tears fell from the closed eyes of Edward Elric.

Gokudera turned around and left the forest clearing, leaving Ed behind.

Rain slowly began to fall from the sky, but Ed remained unmoving, cursing softly, "Dammit..."


	22. Chapter 22

**LunarFallenStar: Hey guys! Here's the next chapter and so sorry for the late update... I planned to do it last week but I had a full schedule that I didn't know about. Anyhow, Thank you all for reading and for my kind reviewers! I really enjoy it when someone likes my story. Thank you for the reviews as well.**

**UniCryin: Thanks for the review and I know, the extra is sad. I just watched a video and I'm like all sad and stuff but then it got me thinking and then I wrote that... but do not worry! Ice Cream can help you heal all wounds... well, a few wounds... Glad you liked the chapter and I hope you like this one as well.**

**A Natsume Yuujinchou lover: Hey ANYL! Thanks for the review and I'm glad you liked the past few chapters! I'm glad your looking forward to the final battle against Millefiore and you're right, Squalo does appear soon! And I'm glad you liked Rage!Ed. I do highly apologize for how Squalo got little face time... and don't worry, Zakuro will be destroyed soon enough and your revenge for Squalo shall be commenced henceforth! And thank you very much, I'm glad you liked the extra. Good luck with those three compositions... though you're probably already finished with them...**

**archsage328: Thanks for the review and I'm super glad you liked that chapter and the one before it! I hope you enjoy this one as well~!**

**HebaAce: Thanks for the review and I hope you like this chapter! I'm really glad you liked rage Ed and that you found him funny. OMG I love Yoda! I'm glad you liked the extra as well! P.S. Love the new profile picture! Tsuna looks awesome!**

**CrimsonLocket: Thanks for the review! Glad you liked the extra! And you are right, llamas are evil creatures, but I still find them highly adorable. I had so much fun at camp! We had a zipline over the lake except I'm really small for my age, so I started going backwards after I reached the end and I got stuck in the middle of the lake and they had to come out to get me... the bus trip wasn't so bad, on the way home, we stopped for lunch at burger king and McDonalds. All of my friends and I went to burger king and we got those cardboard crowns so I have a pic of all of us wearing burger king crowns on the bus on the way home.**

**Lightning of Sentinels: Hahaha, it is like Roy! Never realized that. Thanks for the review and I'm glad you liked the chapter! Thanks for the comment on the extra!**

**SunshineAndMoonlight: Thanks for the review and I'm glad the extra was up to par with how you envisioned it would happen! P.S. your avatar is as awesome as usual!**

**Elaniza: Thanks for the review and you are totally right! Geniuses find unpredictable uses for everyday items. I will also try to fit in a Fuuta ranking for Ed!**

**RowanQuill: Awww thank you! I'm so flattered! Thank you so much for your amazingly kind review!**

**majishan: Thanks for the review! And I'm kinda' happy the review was extremely sad because I wanted it to be like that but really sad that I even wrote about such a depressing subject... **

* * *

><p><em><strong>~Previously~<strong>_

_**When the door slid closed, Tsuna shivered slightly, 'Just now... did I? No, I must just be imagining things...'**_

_**Ed snapped out of his anger-only mode when he felt the faint presence of mist-flames drifting into the room. His eyes narrowed dangerously and just to be safe, he moved closer to Yuni, just in case a surprise attack was under way.**_

* * *

><p>Lambo wrestled out of Gokudera's grip and ran around frantically, "I wanna play, I wanna play!"<p>

Ed sighed and looked around, looking for the smallest hint of the offensive mist flames he felt earlier. His gaze focused back on the cow child when he heard his name being called.

"Eddie! Eddie! Play with me!" Lambo whined childishly.

Ed held his arms up to refuse politely, not wanting to be rude to a kid at the moment, only to feel himself falling backwards as a black and white blur flew across his eyes.

The confused his Edward, before he could ask what was going on, felt a pain in the back of his head and felt black begin to dot his vision before he faded out of consciousness.

Everyone else gaped out at the scene. Apparently, little Lambo had jumped up into Ed with such force that caused the blonde alchemist to fall backwards, hit his head on the corner of the wooden table just behind him and be knocked unconscious. **(A/N: The injury to his head will heal, but he'll stay unconscious, that's what I'm going for at least.)**

Now that Ed was on the floor, quickly relocated to a spare couch, and Yuni was relatively unguarded, Lambo inched closer and sat by the sky Arcobaleno.

Chrome and Yuni shuddered slightly, "Sawada-san, the offensive presence is closer..."

Everyone bolted to action, sealing up the shop and barricading everything to protect Yuni.

As Lambo inched closer and closer to the nervous Giglio Nero Boss, Chrome's eyes snapped open, "Boss! The cow child!"

"Cow child? Lambo?" Tsuna inquired, "What about him?"

All eyes fell upon the young italian mafioso and gaped as mist flames slowly began to dissolve his form.

"LAMBO?" Tsuna yelled, "You?"

"Well, you see," A voice too deep to be Lambo's drawled, "Attacking from the outside and having you run away is awfully tiresome, so I chose a different tactic..."

Eyes widened as the image of Lambo completely disappeared and none other than Torikabuto took his place, holding the unsuspecting and shocked Yuni in his grip.

Torikabuto quickly flew through the sealed doors, breaking them down completely to make his escape.

"I'm not letting you get away!" Tsuna yelled, chasing after the Millefiore member.

Everyone soon arrived outside the building and stared into the sky, mouths agape at what they saw, "The real Six Funeral Wreaths!"

"Sawada-san!" Yuni called in distress, "Uncle Reborn!"

"Looks like they planned this one well..." Reborn muttered, holding Leon who quickly transformed into a gun.

"It's time for you to face Blue Bell!" Blue Bell giggled, injecting rain flames into her box, "DIE!"

Attack after attack buffeted the group, filling the atmosphere with explosions and Yuni's pleas for everyone's safety. After the Millefiore's barrage was complete, a thick cloud of dust and debris rose up, clouding everyone's vision.

Kikyo smirked, "O-ho... Mission accomplished."

Everyone in the sky were taken aback when two balls of black fur laced with lightning flew up from the ground. The two foxes shot for Torikabuto, shocking the mist user and causing him to drop Yuni.

Yuni looked at the two foxes who leapt to her, slowing down her descent, "Bidget...?"

She felt strong arms catch her and hold her securely. She looked up slightly when a smooth voice met her ears, "Are you quite all right?... Princess."

"G- Gamma!" Yuni gasped in shock.

"Princess!" Another voice was heard, accompanied by a slightly deeper one, "We'll protect you!"

"Nosaru... Tazaru!" Yuni gasped once more.

The Millefiore glared in displeasure and hatred at the, supposedly dead, previous black spell members.

"What are you playing at Torikabuto?" Blue Bell growled, "Retrieve Yuni at once!"

Nosaru and Tazaru quickly sprang to action, going to attack Kikyo and Blue Bell, only to be blocked and sent flying through the air, yelling in pain.

"Nosaru! Tazaru!" Yuni shrieked in worry.

Gamma gritted his teeth in frustration, sending out his Nere Volpe to go attack, only to have Torikabuto deal with them in one simple strike.

Gamma clicked his tongue as Torikabuto began to make his advance upon him, wielding his two weapons that glinted evilly in the sunlight.

Torikabuto was almost upon them, but a blur of orange zipped by and Torikabuto was sent flying through the air.

"Where do you think you're looking?" A smooth voice inquired, "Your opponent..."

Everyone's eyes fell upon the figure of Vongola Decimo, now in Hyper Dying Will Mode with a growling Natsu on his shoulder. He opened his mouth and tightened his glove hand into a fist, a very threatening flame igniting, "...Is right here."

"His brow every furrowed... he wields his fists as though in prayer... that..." Yuni gasped, staring in awe at the one who vowed to protect her, "Is the Vongola Decimo."

Torikabuto stared impassively at the teenage mafia boss before him, slowly bringing up his hand and igniting his mare ring in an indigo flame. He flung open his robes to reveal a box weapon lodged into his chest. While the Vongola group stared in shock at the illusionist, he injected flames into the box, releasing a burst of energy that shielded him from the view of everyone else.

Everyone covered their faces to shield themselves from the onslaught of mist flames that burst through the still air. The flames dissipated, revealing a now insectified Torikabuto in all his moth glory.

Haru blanched, "Hahi! That's gross!"

"The end has come..." Torikabuto stated monotonously, voice never wavering as the world slowly began to spin and distort out of order.

"What! Our surroundings are starting to spin!"

"This illusion..." Tsuna muttered, "It's stronger than it was in choice!"

The group remaining all the ground floated around as they freaked out and became confused. However, in this mass hysteria, no one noticed as the unmoving form of Edward slowly disappeared in a swirl of mist flames, leaving no trace of him to be seen except for a small journal and box that had fallen out from his pocket.

Tsuna looked around, unable to find any trace of Torikabuto anywhere.

"To the right of the Sky Child!" A voice called out.

Tsuna flew forward, sticking at his elbow as if to hit something. However, as opposed to just air, he felt his elbow collide with something. More specifically, Torikabuto's unsuspecting face.

"Down! Further Down!" The same voice, which belonged to Chrome, called out.

"Chrome-san!"

"Chrome's mist owl has transformed," Reborn informed, "It's the same Vongola the first generation mist guardian used in his time. He was known as an incredible phantom, daemon spade's magic lens! It's rumored that during the time of the first mist guardian, all who were gazed upon by those lenses were found floating lifeless in the ocean the next day."

Everyone's gazes focused back upon the sky, where the battle was still raging. Everyone was relieved when the illusions melted away by the heat of Tsuna's intense flames.

"Let me help you, Torikabuto," Kikyo said, beginning to head to the mist user, "Even if you could win one on one, they've outnumbered you."

"This is the way of the Vongola," A voice spoke up, causing Kikyo to freeze in place as many beams of condensed sun flames shot through the air.

"The Vongola's strength has nothing to do with numbers," Reborn said, aiming his gun at the millefiore member.

"That's right," Ryohei said, rising into the sky, "When my comrades are in need of help, the fire in my fighting ring burns to the extreme!"

"Boo~!" Blue Bell said, puffing out her cheeks before flinging open her robe, exposing her carnage box.

"Don't be hasty!" Kikyo chided, grabbing on to the small girl, "It would be easy to exterminate them all. However, in order to make sure that Yuni-sama is captured safely, we need more power. As long as we restructure ourselves, everything will be easily done. Take a look there."

Blue Bell slowly shifted her gaze over to where Tsuna and Torikabuto were fighting, her eyes widening slightly. She looked over just in time to see Torikabuto being consumed in the flames of X-Burner.

When the flames dissipated slightly, Kikyo and Blue Bell flew over, catching the falling mist user easily. The few people that were there were confused when they saw the retreating group catch something that was falling out of the sky, a trail of mist flames falling behind it, as they flew out of sight. Reborn eyed them as they left but briefly wondered what the golden blur in their arms was.

When the Millefiore was out of sight, everyone relaxed slightly, beginning to regroup by the demolished shop. They all looked at each other, beginning to discuss where they should go next. After conversing for a while, Tsuna stood up, "I'll go check on Edward-sensei and see if I can wake him up..."

Tsuna got up and walked to where the blonde alchemist should be located. A few moments of silence passed before a deafening shriek met their ears, "HIIEEEE!"

"Sawada-san!" Yuni called, getting up and looking at where the teenager had disappeared too.

Tsuna walked back into the rooming holding a journal and a small box, eyes wide with shock.

"Dame-Tsuna, what's wrong?" Reborn asked urgently.

"I only found these when I went to check on him," Tsuna murmured softly, before speaking up, "Edward-sensei's gone!"

"What?" Everyone yelled incredulously.

* * *

><p><strong>At a Hotel in Japan<strong>

Byakuran reclined on a sofa, a thermometer hanging loosely from his mouth, "So, Daisy and Torikabuto were both done in. Not to mention we overlooked the appearance of Gamma and co. from black spell as well and relatively the Vongola boxes. Not to mention we lost Yuni-chan..."

The three real funeral wreaths that kneeled before Byakuran gritted their teeth, nodding slightly in agreement.

"However, Byakuran-sama, we did accomplish one task though..." Kikyo spoke up, dropping an object to the ground with a thud.

Byakuran looked down, eyes falling on an unconscious Edward Elric, whose arms and legs were tied.

"But, Byakuran-sama," Zakuro asked, "Why did you want us to capture this brat?" He was still bitter about almost getting his ass handed to him by said blonde alchemist.

Byakuran smiled, "Fullmetal-kun here is a good friend from the past... from a different world... I plan to use his power to our advantage in this upcoming final battle. It's clear that desperate times call for desperate measures."

* * *

><p><strong>LunarFallenStar0o0: And this chapter is finished~! Hoped you liked this chapter! Please R&amp;R! Until the next update! Bye-bi~!<strong>


	23. Chapter 23

**LunarFallenStar: Hey guys! So so sorry for the EXTREMELY late update! It's just with school starting again soon and a lot of other stuff, mainly my lazy, procrastinating stuff, I just didn't have the time. However, I finally willed myself to sit down and get cracking on this chapter. I hope you like this chapter~ Also, thank you all for your very kind reviews.**

**CrimsonLocket: Thanks for the review! Ziplines are AMAZING~ They are so much fun (in my opinion)... How did you know... Well, I didn't throw knives, but I did something like that! /had this conversation before XD. My family does that too! We always correct the mistakes or just act sarcastic. Sadly, I do it for books too. Yep, Ed is in deep trouble, lol. Haha good luck with the cosplay /had this conversation before as well.**

**archsage328: Thanks for your kind review! Lol, threatening to turn Amestris into a giant marshmallow! Byakuran would TOTALLY do that. Omigosh, you are right, I didn't notice that lol. I'm really glad you liked the action sequence though because I normally don't have a lot of confidence in that are ^ ^" Oh no! Lambo, I'm so sorry! I can't believe I forgot about the REAL great Lambo-san (and trust me, that cow child is very hard to forget) Yep he was basically taped under the couch... Oooops.**

**HebaAce: Thanks for the review! And I'm glad you liked this chapter, however, do not fret! Ed shall (Most likely) be fighting in this chapter or the next, and if not, he will most certainly be a sarcastic ray of sunshine like usual. Yep, I love quoting the original work in stories that way it maintains relatively the same aspect as the anime/manga itself. OMG I have KHROS too! It's not pretty, but it is one of the most enjoyable things I have ever experienced. I hope the manga isn't coming to an end! I would be so sad if it does! Awwww, I'm so glad this is one of your favorite stories! I feel so flattered and honored *bows* Thanks for the really kind review again, HebaAce-san!**

**majishan: Thanks for the review! I'm really excited to write about Ed against the Shimon family *has been planning it for a while***

**YunaKnightwriter97: Thanks for the review! DO NOT FRET! BYAKURAN SHALL GET WHAT HE DESERVES SOON ENOUGH!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~Previously~<strong>_

_**"However, Byakuran-sama, we did accomplish one task though..." Kikyo spoke up, dropping an object to the ground with a thud.**_

_**Byakuran looked down, eyes falling on an unconscious Edward Elric, whose arms and legs were tied.**_

_**"But, Byakuran-sama," Zakuro asked, "Why did you want us to capture this brat?" He was still bitter about almost getting his ass handed to him by said blonde alchemist.**_

_**Byakuran smiled, "Fullmetal-kun here is a good friend from the past... from a different world... I plan to use his power to our advantage in this upcoming final battle. It's clear that desperate times call for desperate measures."**_

* * *

><p>The Vongola group as well as Gamma, Tazaru, and Nosaru sat in the small forest clearing. A gentle glow was cast upon them by the gentle flame of the roaring fire located at the center of their makeshift camp. The ones who were seriously injured in the previous fight were lying down on the makeshift cots that dotted the camp, the ones who were well helping to treat their injuries.<p>

"THIS IS NO BIGGIE, TO THE EXTREME! IT DOESN'T HURT AT ALL!" Ryohei yelled in protest as more of his injuries were tended to.

Kyoko sighed, grabbing another strip of bandages before turning back to her older brother, "Onii-chan, you're trying too hard... you're only straining your injuries more..."

Further away in the distance, Tsuna sighed softly, looking up at the moon which cast a gentle glow upon them, "Who would've thought that we'd be back in the forest where it all started..."

"It can't be helped since the real-estate burned down, Dame-Tsuna," Reborn said solemnly, walking to stand beside his student.

Fuuta walked over as well, "We can't go back to the town either. There's quite an uproar at the moment because of the explosions with Millefiore."

Tsuna looked down sadly, speaking softly, "I wonder if the townspeople are okay? I'm also worried about the Vongola base... I wonder if it's been discovered..."

"Don't worry, Giannini said he has it all covered since he took the proper precautions beforehand."

"I hope Yamamoto and Hibari-san get here soon, too..." Tsuna mumbled, looking back at their small group, "I wonder what happened to Edward-sensei... I hope he's okay, but what would Byakuran want with him?"

Back at camp, Gokudera cast an annoyed glare at Gamma who returned it with equal force.

Gamma clicked his tongue slightly, "If you're going to say something, spit it out."

"I was just surprised you haven't kicked the bucket yet," Gokudera replied nonchalantly.

Gamma smirked, "I could say the same for you. I'm quite staggered actually."

Tazaru grumbled slightly as Lambo clung to his face, "What's with all these brats! They're everywhere! How could Millefiore possibly be troubled by a bunch of brats! And it's good to see you again, traitor of the old Merone Base."

"Wh-! How are you any different when you betrayed Millefiore as well!?" Irie questioned in annoyance, "It's not like I ever thought I'd ever see you savage people again!"

Nosaru gritted his teeth before glaring at Irie in anger, "Are you trying to provoke Aniki?!"

Irie's eyes widened slightly, before he stuttered out, "A-are you going to... be violent...?"

"Stop it, Nosaru!" A strict voice yelled, sounding much like a mother scolding a disobedient child. Yuni walked forward slightly, carrying a tray with a glass of water on it while Tsuna followed behind her, hands stuffed in his pockets, "Be friendly with everyone!"

"Hime-sama!" Nosaru said in shock before turning and picking up I-Pin by her feet, "We ARE being friendly! See? Great friends!"

"Sorry, Irie-san," Yuni said, bowing her head slightly in Irie's direction.

"No," Irie spoke up, "I was at fault as well."

Yuni smiled softly, walking over to Lal Mirch. Kneeling by her bedside, Yuni held out the glass of water she had been carrying, "Here you go, Lal-san. Some water."

"...Thanks..." Lal murmured, taking the glass softly. She fell silent as Yuni smiled brightly at her, "You really do look so much like... Your grandmother... Luce..."

Yuni smiled warmly, looking at Reborn as the Sun Arcobaleno walked up to them, "Uncle Reborn says the same thing."

"Yuni, do you know about the birth of the Arcobaleno?" Lal asked cautiously.

"Yes," Yuni nodded softly, "A fragment of that memory was passed onto me."

Tsuna looked at her in a mix of shock and confusion, '_passed on?_' he thought in confusion.

"Luce had a... power that let her read into the future..." Lal spoke softly, looking up at the girl kneeling before her, "Do you have that power as well?"

"I had it once before," Yuni replied gently, "But lately, it has grown weaker... However, the same goes for Byakuran."

Everyone looked at the Giglio Nero boss in shock.

"He knows that his power is weakening, so naturally he would want to finish things quickly, but his hastiness is causing him to become sloppy in his plans."

"Byakuran-san's power?!" Irie questioned, "You mean how he can look into parallel worlds?"

"So, Byakuran found us out at the real-estate agency through his power..." Reborn said, looking up at Yuni who gave a small nod.

"Why can't you use your power as you once could?" Tsuna inquired cautiously.

"In my case..." Yuni replied, "It's due to the withering and aging of power... The arcobaleno of the sky is cursed with a short life. That's also the reason Byakuran is trying so desperately to catch me quickly... he wants to get the true power of the trinisette as quickly as possible so he could use it's power as his own..."

"But sense he's hasty..." Tsuna said, resting his chin in his hand, "Doesn't that mean we'll be able to rescue Edward-sensei faster!?"

Reborn nodded, "However, since Byakuran's power is weakening, wouldn't that make him want a powerful tool all the more? As far as we've seen, Ed would fill that position to a T."

"But Edward-sensei would never go with his plans willingly!" Tsuna protested.

"What if Byakuran could manipulate Ed through a different way," Reborn replied gravely, "With knowledge of multiple worlds he could quite possibly have a method to hypnotize him or to a worse extent, control him like a puppet..."

Tsuna gritted his teeth, "Edward-sensei is stronger than that... I just know it..."

"You sure speak highly of this Edward person," Gamma muttered.

Tsuna turned to face Gamma, "Edward-sensei is one of the strongest people I know!"

Everyone turned their attention to Haru who ran over to where they were, carrying in her hands Ed's journal and the small box he had dropped, "Tsuna-san! I know what this box is! I remember now!"

She stopped in front of them holding out the two aforementioned items, "One time when we were in the kitchen, I cut my finger on a blade. Ed-san took out this box from his jacket! There are vials in it and one of them healed my cut! We could use this to help heal everyone!"

"What?" Tsuna questioned, taking the small box out of Haru's hands. Finding the latch quickly, he opened it up. Inside was an array of multiple types of bottles, each filled with a liquid substance. They were all labeled neatly. Upon looking closer, Tsuna swore he saw small trace amounts of Sun flames dancing around in the liquid.

"Do you know what the journal is?" Lal asked in question.

Haru shook her head, "No, I never saw him with it."

Reborn jumped up and grabbed the leather journal with ease, "I saw him writing in it once before. It looked like a travelogue, but that's probably just a code."

"Elric-san is a secretive person, it seems," Yuni murmured softly.

Tsuna nodded before looking up, "I'm sure Edward-senseid wouldn't mind us using these."

* * *

><p><strong>In a Hotel in Japan<strong>

Byakuran sat on the plush couch that sat in the middle room, his back facing the screen behind him. Clutching a drink tensely in his hands, he absentmindedly spoke up, talking to Iris over the monitor.

"Did you just tell me that Mukuro-kun managed to escape the Vindice first?" Byakuran hummed, his everpresent smile on his face, "You were made complete fools by Vongola... We didn't know Mukuro-kun had such convenient friends did we...? But, Oh well, long as you do what I ask, I have no complaints. I'll make a deal with Vindice once more..."

He clutched the glass with more force, causing the feeble cup to shatter under his grasp, "GET GHOST OUT OF THERE!"

A small click was heard, signaling the line was dead and that Iris had hung up. Over to the side, a small whistle was heard.

"Looks like those 'brats' from the Vongola outsmarted you..." A dry laugh was heard, "I told you not to underestimate them..."

"Very funny Fullmetal-kun," Byakuran said dryly, "Very funny indeed."

Edward smirked slightly, a trickle of blood running down his face and dripping to the floor. His arms were chained uncomfortably together behind his back and his legs were chained together as well. The fact that those chains were attached to the wall only made the discomfort grow.

Byakuran got up and walked over, expression darkening, "Looks like Zakuro didn't have any luck trying to persuading you to join us"

"Like I would ever join a bunch of assholes who are trying to murder a bunch of teenagers," Ed growled, red sparks flying over his wound as it slowly healed once more, "You all don't even have more worth than the dog shit on the bottom of my shoe!"

Byakuran gritted his teeth, his smile dropping for a few seconds before it picked up once more, "I'm trying really hard to not punch you right now."

"Ha, do it if you wish, it's not like you could kill me," Ed chuckled, a defiant flame flicking in his eyes, "Someone like you wouldn't have the power to kill me and make me stay dead."

Byakuran growled slightly crouching down to be eye level with Ed who was sitting on the floor, slumped against the wall.

"Fullmetal-kun, you don't realize how terrifying I can be," Byakuran's eyes contained venom, but his cheery smile still remained, "And you can't do anything against me, you were injected with something that stops the flow of your flames. You are completely powerless against me."

Ed blinked slowly, a bored expression on his face. He yawned as if bored before turning back to face Byakuran. Byakuran's smile looked more like a smirk at that moment. Ed rolled his eyes in annoyance before spitting directly into Byakuran's into eye.

Byakuran stepped back, rubbing his stinging eyes in annoyance.

Smirking, Ed said slowly, "That's not very frightening. I've been stabbed through the chest and much, much worse. Think you can do better? Give me your best shot, you bastard!"

* * *

><p><strong>LunarFallenStar0o0: And this chapter is finished~! Hope you guys like it! Stay tuned for the next chapter and please R&amp;R if you enjoyed! I would love to hear your feedback! Bye-bi~<strong>


	24. Chapter 24

**LunarFallenStar: Hey guys! Here's the next chapter! I'm sad though... I'M BACK IN SCHOOL! And sadly, School = homework = less free-time = no time to write = extremely late updates! Don't worry, none of my stories are on hiatus, I've just been lazy and have school getting in the way of everything. I'm SO SO sorry for this incredibly late update, school is a horrible thing sometimes. Anyway, thank you all for reading and for your kind reviews. I hope you enjoy this chapter.****  
><strong>

**Crimsonlocket: RESCUE EDWARD! /grabs another gun. Wait, I'll just use this /grabs pen. Sometimes, it's good to be the author. And don't worry, I have a severe problem with procrastination... and laziness... and just being an idiot XD lol I just now noticed that you're like always the first reviewer :3**

**HebaAce: Thank you for the review and I'm soooo glad you like my story. I'm grinning like an idiot right now! Sorry for the extremely late update, I'm always bad with updating because whenever I get around to typing... I get distracted. Thanks, Fairy Alchemist was my first fanfic so naturally it was very sucky at the beginning (I still think it is XD) I see things a really strange way for some reason, you wouldn't want my brain. There's scary stuff in there. KHROS is amazing~**

**UniCryin: Thanks for the review and you are so right, Ed is the most lovable badass there is. Sorry for the late update anyway, and I hope you like this chapter.**

**A Natsume Yuujinchou lover: Hi ANYL! Thanks for the review! Lol, laughter is amazing! You're not alone with that though, I was cracking up in English class today for no apparent reason. Thanks for pointing those out to me, I'll get around to correcting them sometime (in a very long time). Have fun with studying.**

**archsage328:Thanks for the review! And I'm so sorry Lambo! Here's some candy for the great Lambo-san as an apology /holds up giant basket of candy. I bet Reborn is... I would be surprised if he didn't.**

**YunaKnightwriter97: Thanks for the review! And read to find out~**

**Anim8lover: Thanks for the review and I'm glad you liked the chapter. Sorry for the late update.**

**Aika-chan -w: Thanks for the review and I'm glad you enjoyed it.**

**Rainord: Thanks for the review! I'm really glad you liked it.**

**Elaniza: Thanks for the review! And you're right, Byakuran's wasting his time. Super sorry for the late update though**

**Lunarrs: I'm really glad you liked the story. **

* * *

><p><em><strong>~Previously~<strong>_

_**"Fullmetal-kun, you don't realize how terrifying I can be," Byakuran's eyes contained venom, but his cheery smile still remained, "And you can't do anything against me, you were injected with something that stops the flow of your flames. You are completely powerless against me."**_

_**Ed blinked slowly, a bored expression on his face. He yawned as if bored before turning back to face Byakuran. Byakuran's smile looked more like a smirk at that moment. Ed rolled his eyes in annoyance before spitting directly into Byakuran's into eye.**_

_**Byakuran stepped back, rubbing his stinging eyes in annoyance.**_

_**Smirking, Ed said slowly, "That's not very frightening. I've been stabbed through the chest and much, much worse. Think you can do better? Give me your best shot, you bastard!"**_

* * *

><p>Byakuran gripped Ed's head in his hands, causing Ed's eyebrow to twitch slightly in pain. Smirking slightly, Ed looked up to meet the cool gaze of Byakuran, "You aren't very nice to guests now are you?"<p>

Byakuran grit his teeth in annoyance as he glared at Ed, red sparks flying over the immortal's skin signaling the healing of Ed's wounds.

"How many times..." Byakuran muttered dangerously, "How many times have I practically had you dead at my feet now, yet you still spew nothing but trash out of that cocky little mouth of yours...?"

Ed smirked, eyes boiling with fire, "Is it making you angry? That no matter how much you try you can't even kill the one person, who is completely defenseless, that you really want to kill?"

Byakuran growled in the back of his throat before releasing his grip on Edward's head, "Kill you? I never said I wanted to kill you. I want to turn you into a completely broken man then you'll be a strong tool that will help me take down the Vongola."

"Even if an ass-wipe like you can manage to brainwash me to follow an idiot like you, Tsunayoshi-kun wouldn't fall under my attacks," Ed laughed dryly, "Tsunayoshi-kun would _never _be defeated by someone who couldn't even save one little girl."

Clenching his fists in annoyance, Byakuran glared at Ed harshly, "I don't think you understand the true essence of your power. If I can use you, I'll be able to become god all the more quickly."

Ed's eyes widened as his frame lightly shook. Much to Byakuran's surprise, Ed began to laugh uncontrollably. Looking up at Byakuran's shocked expression, Ed stopped, "Wait... you were serious? So you're one of _those_ villains..."

The boss of the Millefiore gaped slightly at the blonde alchemist in shock.

"I've met what you could call 'god'," Ed monotonously said, "And it sure as hell ain't you!"

Byakuran gritted his teeth slightly and pulled back his hand, wanting nothing more than to punch the blonde. He was about to swing down and Ed braced for the impact, only to find that someone grabbed his arm.

The white-haired man turned around and noticed none other than Kikyo standing there, gripping his bicep.

"Byakuran-sama," Kikyo said, "You'll have to persuade this insolent child (Ed: Hey!) no longer."

Arching a thin eyebrow, Byakuran looked at his subordinate with a quizzical gaze, "What?"

"I told our scientists about our... issue and they told me this," Kikyo leaned forward slightly and whispered something in Byakuran's ear. After a few seconds, Kikyo stepped away leaving Byakuran with a smirk on his face. Walking forward, Byakuran placed his palm on Ed's forehead, his smirk only growing.

Ed looked at Byakuran in apprehension and slight worry, only making Byakuran feel even more triumphant, "I see you've finally run out of things to say... Nee, Fullmetal-kun?"

Ed's mouth fell open in a silent scream as he felt pure white pain overwhelm his senses. Ed looked up, meeting the violet eyes of the boss of the Millefiore. His vision blurring, the last thing Ed saw before everything faded to black was the triumphant glint in the cruel eyes of Byakuran.

* * *

><p><strong>The Vongola Group<strong>

The small group sat in the small forest clearing, the small warmth from the fire the only comfort available to them. They had just finished discussing their battle plan and Tsuna was anything but collected. Still apprehensive about the plan they had set in place, Tsuna looked towards the stars dotting the night sky. His mine flitted over multiple things like how they would defeat Byakuran, if they could protect Yuni well, and he briefly thought of Edward.

'_Edward-sensei..._' Tsuna thought absent-mindedly, '_I wonder what you're doing right now..._'

The young Vongola Decimo felt Reborn's words pounding around in his head as if he had just heard them seconds ago. If Reborn's words were correct, who knows what Byakuran could do to try to get Ed on the Millefiore's side.

Tsuna clenched his fists slightly, '_It's my turn to save you Edward-sensei_.'

* * *

><p><strong>With the Millefiore<strong>

Byakuran sat on his throne, chin propped lazily in his hand. The bright morning sun beat down upon the forest, casting shadows and creating beautiful scenery. However, the Millefiore weren't there to admire the view. They were there to destroy the Vongola and reclaim the sky child, Yuni. Kikyo, Blue Bell, and Zakuro kneeled by the thrown, gazing up at their boss with pure admiration and blind obedience.

Byakuran looked down at them, ever-present smile plastered on his face, "The time is almost upon us," Byakuran chuckled, "The time where we retrieve Yuni-chan and dispose of the Vongola filth once and for all."

Kikyo smirked, meeting the violet eyes of Byakuran, "Yes. The 'bacteria powder' left on Yuni from Torikabuto will remain effective for three days. There is no mistaking her current position. She's still within 5km of us."

Reviewing their attack plan briefly, Byakuran's grin widened slightly, "I'll catch up with you all as soon as I can. Oh, by the way, as long as Yuni-chan is safe, you can throw an all out attack."

"Yes," They said in unison, "We accept your orders gratefully!"

"Now then, off you go," Byakuran said, signaling for the three to take off in different directions and head towards the Vongola's position.

Byakuran smirked as he watched them disappear over the horizon. Turning to a small lump on the ground, he opened his mouth to speak, "Things are about to get a lot more exciting, don't you think..."

The lump stirred and sat up slightly, revealing golden hair hanging in a loose ponytail and golden eyes, hidden behind a black blindfold. The form was clad only in a black tank-top and black pants, leaving gleaming metal limbs exposed to the sun.

"Fullmetal-kun?" Byakuran inquired, finishing his earlier statement.

Ed leaned his head back, looking for the source of the noise, a low growl erupting in his throat.

It seemed like an eternity had passed before a large explosion appeared on the horizon, Byakuran leaned towards the edge of his seat, whistling slightly. Ed shifted uncomfortably in his place on the ground.

"Oh, Fullmetal-kun? Are you getting antsy from not being in the action?" Byakuran chimed slightly, features laced with amusement. The golden haired alchemist remained impassive despite the annoying albino beside him.

Roars of battle were heard from their resting point in the forest for several minutes.

Byakuran's thin eyebrows furrowed slightly as he looked towards Ed, "Seems like they're having some difficulty disposing of the Vongola. Why don't you go assist them Fullmetal-kun?"

Byakuran stood up and hoisted the shorter blonde to his feet. Pulling out a knife swiftly, Byakuran cut through the rope binding the alchemist's hands. Byakuran grinned wickedly as he shoved Ed forward slightly, the blonde falling into step and walking towards the forest at an even pace.

Byakuran smiled, "It's time to cash in my Ace in the hole."

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback<strong>

_"Why exactly are we bringing this idjit along?" Zakuro questioned with distaste, "Last time I checked the idjit refused to work with us."_

_Kikyo turned to the red head and smirked slightly, "O-ho, that _was_ the case, but it's different now."_

_"What?" Blue Bell asked, peering at the blonde alchemist in confusion._

_Kikyo smiled, beginning to explain, "We've managed to 'brainwash' him so to speak. By injecting highly concentrated flames into the brain, you can override the normal brain functions for a certain period of time and completely control the person of your choice. The only side affect is that the flow of his flames has been stalled, and to a lesser extent, his healing rate...'_

_Blue Bell looked up at Kikyo, arching an eyebrow, "But how do flames control the person?"_

_"To be honest, I don't quite understand it myself," Kikyo chuckled slightly, turning to the alchemist once more, "But it most certainly is effective."_

* * *

><p><strong>At the Fight<strong>

The remaining funeral wreaths looked around in confusion as Kikyo's illusion worked against him apparently, taking the form of the Vongola members they had sworn they had killed just moments earlier.

Blue Bell and Zakuro howled in pain as the carnage box Kikyo unleashed turned on them.

Mukuro and the group from Kokuyou walked forward, causing the mist flames to dissipate and the illusions to disappear. The Millefiore members looked around in confusion, "You mean, the ones we killed were just illusions?!"

Further away, Ed walked through the forest, his bare feet thudding against the cold ground in a monotonous beat. His eardrums lightly picked up on the sounds of the bickering enemies and the sounds of the forest. His eyes were met only with pitch blackness as the blindfold blocked his eyes, causing his other remaining senses to sharpen. While the blindfold was an inconvenience, he didn't bother to take it off.

He approached the artificial clearing that was created by their fight, all eyes turning to him when his foot caused a twig to snap, causing the many mafioso to avert their eyes to the new person arriving in the clearing.

Gokudera looked at him in shock, emerald eyes widening, "E-Elric?!"

Mukuro chuckled slightly, "It seems the immortal has finally arrived."

The Varia stared at the pineapple in slight bewilderment, not yet knowing that the alchemist standing before them was an immortal.

Noticing that the enemy was unguarded slightly, one of the Vongola members, readied an attack and let it loose, it heading on a straight course for the unsuspecting Millefiore.

Ed heard the slight whistling of the wind and clapped his hands, a column of earth rising from the ground, propelling him towards the attack.

Blocking it's attack, Ed wasn't even fazed as the attack buffeted him to the point where a normal person would be dead. The Vongola members looked confused as the alchemist blocked the attack and protected the Millefiore; the Varia was even more confused as the blonde didn't falter or fall to his death, just stood their.

Ryohei looked at Ed in shock, "W-what?"

They all watched as the shredded black blindfold slowly fell to the floor, revealing Ed's closed eyes.

Noticing the blindfold was gone, golden eyes slowly opened, revealing a surprise to the ones who were closely associated to the alchemist.

"His eyes..." Ryohei muttered in disbelief.

"They're..." Gokudera said, not sure how to say it, "They're empty..."

Golden eyes bored into the members of Vongola, except as opposed to the usually analytical, fierce gaze, there was nothing but emptiness. Nothing but soulless and blank golden eyes.

Gokudera growled, "What the hell did you do to him?!"

Kikyo chuckled darkly, "O-ho, why, we just made him a puppet, to be used for our bidding. You might as well say good-bye to the Edward Elric you knew, because he's no longer here... he's as good as dead."

Gokudera looked at him, emerald eyes burning in anger, "Like HELL he is!"

* * *

><p><strong>LunarFallenStar0o0: And this chapter is finished~! I didn't really like how this chapter turned out, but I hope you like it. Sorry for the late update. Bye bi~<strong>


	25. Chapter 25

**LunarFallenStar: Hey guys! I'm actually updating on time for once! Well anyway, thank you all for reading and for your reviews! Here's the next chapter!**

**UniCryin: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked the chapter! I hope you like this one as well!**

**YuyaKnightwriter97: Thanks for the review! And fear not! The shall save him!**

**A Natsume Yuujinchou lover: Thanks for the review! Hi ANYL! I know I skipped so much of the action, but to make up for it, there will be a ton of action in this one (I hope -_-). I'm glad you liked the whole 'flame-brainwashing' thing. Exams are brutal, good luck with that. And don't worry, I'm happy as long as you enjoy the story.**

**archsage328: Thank for the review! I'm glad you liked the the chapter! I hope this chapter meets your expectations.**

**majishan: Thanks for the review! And worry not! They shall save Ed from the clutches of the marshmallow-fiend!**

**HebaAce: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you liked the chapter. Truth be told, I was super worried about the whole Brain-flame injecting thing, so I'm really glad you liked it. I thought that they would use a mix of Sky and Mist flames. Sky to kind of harmonize and petrify (non-lethally) and then Mist to provide the illusion of the whole brain-washing thing (that sounded a LOT better in my head). I'm hoping I'll manage to update Fullmetal Bodyguard today considering I have most of it typed out so fingers crossed.**

**Elaniza: Thanks for the review! And Ed shall be rescued!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~Previously~<strong>_

_**Golden eyes bored into the members of Vongola, except as opposed to the usually analytical, fierce gaze, there was nothing but emptiness. Nothing but soulless and blank golden eyes.**_

_**Gokudera growled, "What the hell did you do to him?!"**_

_**Kikyo chuckled darkly, "O-ho, why, we just made him a puppet, to be used for our bidding. You might as well say good-bye to the Edward Elric you knew, because he's no longer here... he's as good as dead."**_

_**Gokudera looked at him, emerald eyes burning in anger, "Like HELL he is!"**_

* * *

><p>The dull golden eyes stared at the scene impassively, not even flinching as blood seeped down his face, getting in his eyes, before continuing its journey down his face, then dripping to the ground. He jumped off the small pillar, landing in front of the Vongola group.<p>

Analytical emerald eyes stared at him, trying to figure out what had happened to the blonde alchemist. Gokudera lowered his stance slightly as he looked at his teacher.

Leaning back slightly, Ed slid his feet apart, bringing up his two hands, forming a battle stance.

Ed charged forward, startling the Vongola. Hibari reacted quickly, dashing forward to meet his opponent, metal tonfas raised threateningly, purple flames dancing over them.

Clapping his hands, Ed quickly turned his automail into a blade and swung down, forcing Hibari to block with his tonfas. The prefect gritted his teeth quietly at the force of the alchemist's swing.

Taking this chance, Ed swung out his leg, knocking the prefects legs from under him. He then nimbly jumped over Hibari, landing before his opponents.

He ducked under a bolt of flames and flipped, bringing his automail leg down onto Mukuro's trident. The blonde flipped back over, grasping the black pool of the trident and dragged it with him, rendering the illusionist airborne. Mukuro stared down at Ed, his mismatched eyes widening slightly in realization before a smirk settled on his face. Mukuro relaxed and let himself be thrown, landing safely on his two feet a ways away.

Ed ducked, dodged, dived, and then attacked. Moving around the battle field as if he was dancing. If so, it was obvious to everyone he knew all the steps.

"Ushishishi," Belphegor chuckled, tossing a few more knives in Ed's direction, "The prince thinks the monkey is quite amusing."

Levi gripped the umbrellas on his back and tossed them to sky, charging them with lightning flames. As predicted, Ed followed his path of carnage into the middle of the target and without missing a beat, the Lightning Varia member released the charged flames directly at Ed.

The alchemist ceased his ministrations, body tensing as lightning coursed through it. The Vongola took this as cue to bombard the hypnotized alchemist with attacks.

Belphegor threw his knives with deadly precision, ensnaring the bodyguard with razor sharp wires that cut at the immortals skin. As they continued the rigorous chain of attacks, Edward didn't even flinch.

Gokudera put down his bow, calling out, "It won't do any good! He's an immortal!"

"We just need to keep him from attacking again, byon," Ken yelled back to the bomber.

"Kufufufufu," Mukuro chuckled darkly, standing back by the fuming bomber, "I think I might know how to save the alchemist. But we'll need the Vongola's help."

"Vongola...?" Gokudera repeated quizzically before realization set in, "Juudaime?!"

The illusionist nodded, smirk set on his features, "The Vongola's ability to absorb flames might be useful in this case."

Gokudera stared at the pineapple-haired illusionist in wonder, whilst the Millefiore members floating in the air stared at them in disbelief.

"That idjit's getting his ass handed too him..." Zakuro mumbled angrily.

"Boo~!" Blue Bell stuck out her tongue, "Looks like he wasn't as strong as Byakuran-sama said he was."

Kikyo stared at the blonde alchemist with an analytical gaze.

They were startled when a beam of sky flames shot over towards them, scattering them.

The trio stared towards the ground were Xanxus stood, his guns raised and his box weapon standing beside him proudly, "Keep your eyes on your opponent, trash."

The remaining six funeral wreaths backed up slightly, only to find they couldn't. They turned around, coming face to face with spiky, purple spheres. They stared up in wonder, meeting the head prefect's cold glare, "For disrupting the peace of Namimori, I will bite you to death."

* * *

><p>Darkness. Complete and total Darkness.<p>

Golden eyes peered open, blinking slightly. Waiting for his eyes to adjust, Ed was surprised when they didn't, and only blackness still remained.

His golden hair hung loose, falling past his shoulders. Ed looked around, his hair following slowly behind him, as if he was in water. He noticed now that it was like he was floating.

The darkness faded to a dim grey as a tiny orb of light floated down in front of him. He grasped the orb in his hands, holding it up to his face.

His eyes widened slightly in confusion when he realized that it wasn't any normal light, but what appeared to be a movie, playing before him.

Inside the tiny object, he was surprised to find himself, standing in a place he would never forget... central city.

"What?" Ed questioned as the darkness faded away into bright light as he himself disappeared. The light faded and he found himself floating over the city of Central, back in Amestris. Looking down at the bustling streets, he saw his familiar golden hair and red trench-coat, as well as the ginormous suit of armor trailing behind him.

_"Hurry up, Al!" He called, weaving his way through the busy streets of Central._

_"Slow down, Nii-san!" Al called out to him, "When have you ever been this eager to get to Central H.Q?"_

_"The Colonel Bastard said it was urgent," Ed replied over his shoulder._

_"That's happened before, and all you did was drag your heals all the way there," Al retorted, "Ranting about how you didn't want to see the Colonel's smug face or listen to his short jokes."_

_"WHO'RE YOU CALLING SHORT!" Ed screamed, stopping in his tracks and whirling to face his brother, ignoring the inquisitive stares he received from passersby. _

_"I wasn't calling you small, Nii-san," Al stated simply, "Seriously, why're you so eager to go to H.Q. today?"_

_"It's been so boring lately and we don't have any leads on the stone," Ed told his brother, continuing to head towards the military building, only at a slower pace, "This 'urgent matter' might give us some clues as to where the stone is."_

_The rest of the journey continued in silence and they soon saw the flags of the military and the white buildings coming into view. Ed walked inside and marched over to Mustang's office, charging in without a moment's hesitation._

_"What's this 'urgent' business you were talking about, Colonel?" Ed questioned, walking towards the Colonel's desk._

_Mustang looked up, putting down his paper work. He laced his fingers together and stared at the young alchemist before him, "Glad you could get here quickly, Fullmetal."_

_Ed nodded and sat back in one of the chairs of the Colonel's office, "So... what happened exactly?"_

_"It only happened a few hours ago, but even so, everyone's still confused about the whole thing," Roy started._

_Ed leaned forward slightly, "Go on..."_

_"Apparently, it was business as usual when this kid randomly fell out of the sky in a marketplace. Everyone was terrified and thought that it was a foreign invader, after all the kid did have a strange hair color and wore unusual clothing. He was taken into custody by the military, but hasn't answered a single one of our questions so far."_

_"So, why did you call in Nii-san?" Al inquired._

_Turning to face the younger Elric, Mustang spoke, "We all thought maybe the kid would open up more if someone around his age was asking the questions."_

_Ed leaned back, gripping his chin between his thumb and forefinger, "That could work... Where is this kid?"_

_"He's being held in a slightly nicer area as to not intimidate him," Mustang replied, leaning back in his chair._

_Ed nodded, "Can you take us to him?"_

_Mustang stood from his chair and gestured for the two Elric brothers._

_After walking through the labyrinths of the hallways of central headquarters for a few minutes, they soon reached a doorway. Pulling some keys out of his pockets, Mustang unlocked the door, gesturing for Ed to walk inside, "Just ask simple questions, like 'where are you from?' and such. Got it Fullmetal?"_

_"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Ed replied, waving a hand in a dismissive manner. Turning to his brother, Ed put on a sheepish smile, "You might want to stay in here, Al... you wouldn't want to scare the kid with how big you are and all."_

_Al nodded, sitting down outside the door, watching as Edward walked into the room and Mustang walked back to his office._

_Looking at the floor, Al mumbled cutely, "It's not my fault I'm this big."_

_Ed stepped into the room, looking at his surroundings._

_His eyes fell upon a small kid sitting in a plush chair. Ed smiled slightly, '_At least he's not in a dingy holding cell,_' Ed thought._

_Walking over to where the kid sat, golden eyes noticed another man, clad in the military uniform. The man stared at him questioningly, prompting Ed to dig around in his pockets. He fished out his pocket-watch and briefly showed it to the man who nodded and stood up, saluting Ed as he exited the room._

_Turning to the kid, Ed smiled, sitting down across from the trembling child._

_Analytical golden eyes softened as he looked over the kid before him. A messy white mop of hair sat at the top of a pale face, the knotted bangs falling in front of his eyes. Fearful, violet eyes peered at him, dark bags settling under his eyes. An intricate tattoo shone out against the pale skin, the same striking violet as the eyes that shone fearfully. The kid was skinny, almost too skinny to be healthy. _

_Ed smiled, a sense of compassion settling over for him. Many people would call it pity, but he knew one thing for certain. Sometimes, pity does more harm then good._

Edward gazed on the scene in confusion, watching as his past self interacted with a child he had no memory of. Golden eyes clouded in thought as the child looked so pain-stakingly familiar. Then it hit him.

"Byakuran?!" Ed asked himself in shock. Golden eyes narrowed, "Is that how he knew who I was when he first met me in this world...? But why don't I remember him?"

_"Hey, kiddo," Ed said, relaxing slightly, "How's it going?"_

_Ed looked at the kid expectantly, only for a few moments of awkward silence passed as violet eyes stared hesitantly at him._

_Ed sighed, before smiling again, "Well then... do you have a name?"_

_Once again, violet eyes peered at him as silence settled over the room once more._

_"Oh, I know," Ed said, "Isn't rude to ask someone's name before introducing yourself? Well, I'm Edward Elric, but you can call me Ed."_

_The violet eyes softened slightly, and the boy's parched lips moved slightly, "E...E...Edwa...Edward... E... Elric," The kid said, stuttering slightly. It sounded like his voice hasn't been used in ages. The violet eyes soon lit up and the kid giggled out, "Edo!"_

_Ed couldn't help the smile that formed on his face, "Can you tell me what your name is?"_

_The kid looked at him, lips moving slowly at first, "B-Bya... Byaku... Byakuran."_

_"Byakuran?" Ed asked once again, just to be sure. After receiving a small nod, Ed smiled._

_"Can you tell me how old you are then?" Ed inquired._

_Byakuran looked slightly hesitant for a moment before lifting up his hands and counting on his fingers. After a few moments, he held up nine fingers._

_Ed grinned, "So you're nine then. Looks I'm not too much older than you then. Do you know where you're from?"_

_Byakuran shook his head 'no' and kicked his feet slightly._

_A few moments passed of Ed asking Byakuran questions and just talking with the white-haired kid. Ed turned in his chair as the door opened and in stepped in Colonel Mustang. Ed smiled softly when the young Byakuran ducked behind his back._

_"Don't worry, Byakuran," Ed smiled, jabbing his thumb towards Roy, "This is just the Colonel. He won't bite." _

_Byakuran stepped out from behind Ed a little, but still remained behind the alchemist._

_"So his name's Byakuran?" Mustang inquired, earning a affirmative nod from Ed, "Anything else?"_

_"I learned that he was nine and some other stuff I'll inform you of later," The blonde replied._

_"With that decided..." Mustang began, "Congratulations Edward, you've just been put in charge of the squirt, considering he only trusts you it seems. Hey, maybe you won't be the shortest person in the room anywmore."_

_Ed grit his teeth, not wanting to yell at the Colonel and scare the kid, tarnishing any newfound trust._

_Ed nodded, turning to Byakuran once more, "Guess that means you'll be going with me then."_

The memory faded out and Ed was once more in complete darkness.

Ed looked at his hands, mind racing, "So, I was assigned to look after Byakuran when he randomly appeared in Central one day? But why am I only remembering this now?!"

Golden eyes shot upward as the expanse of nothingness faded back to a dull grey as many orbs of light, his memories, drifted through the expanse. One floated down in front of him and he grasped it in his hands, a bright light filling the expanse once more.

_Ed ran through the alleyways, heart pounding heavily in his chest as his burning lungs gasped for air._

Ed looked at the memory from where he... floated... It looked as if he was slightly older in this memory, if his slight increase of height was anything to go by.

_His footsteps echoed in the silence as he ran as fast as he could to reach his destination. His bangs clung to his forehead as sweat beaded as his brow. He swallowed heavily, trying to soothe the intense burning sensation in his throat._

_Ed slowed slightly, coming to a halt as he stood before a large warehouse. He panted heavily, trying to regulate his breathing. After a few moments passed, he charged forward, running towards the closed door that separated him from the inside of the building. Breaking dow the door, he surveyed his surroundings, golden eyes squinting at the the dim lighting._

_A cackle resounded in the silence. Ed spun around, trying to find the source of the noise._

_"Looks like the military sent a pup to catch a wolf!" The voice laughed out, "They're underestimating me~"_

_"I wasn't sent here by the military, you sick fuck!" Ed growled, "I came here for a personal reason!"_

_"Oooh~" The voice giggled psychotically, "The puppy has quite a sharp tongue~!"  
><em>

_Ed shielded his eyes as all the lights flickered on at full force. He blinked slightly, moving his arm to gaze at the surroundings. His eyes fell on a man standing in the center of the room, clad in a prisoners uniform._

_"Did you perhaps come for this?" The man stepped aside, revealing a defenseless Byakuran, tied to the chair._

_Ed growled and ran forward, clapping his hands._

_"I guess that means I hit the nail on the head!" The man said with glee as he picked up a lead pipe, "But what can you do against someone as powerful as me?"_

_"That god-complex of yours is going to make this a whole lot amusing for me!" Ed sneered, changing his automail arm into a blade._

_The man charged forward, swing down the pipe with brute force. Ed jumped over it easily, balancing on the top of the pipe. Spinning quickly, he delivered a swift roundhouse kick to the side of the man's head. _

_The prisoner flew, colliding with crates stacked throughout the warehouse. They toppled and landed on top of the man, trapping him. Ed quickly turned his blade back to normal. Walking over to where the man was buried, Ed clapped his hands and placed them on the crates, transforming them into a makeshift cage._

_Taking some rope, Ed quickly bound the man's wrists and disposed of the heavy lead pipe. _

_"Colonel Mustang's men will be here to take you back to prison," Ed spat out, turning to run over to Byakuran._

_Kneeling down besides the albino-haired kid, Ed clapped his hands and used alchemy to unbind Byakuran._

_"There," Ed said, tossing the last of the rope away, "Nothing to worry about anymore. You're safe now."_

_Byakuran stared at him with trembling violet eyes, "Aniki... I was so scared!"_

The memory faded and Ed's golden eyes narrowed once more in thought.

Orbs upon orbs drifted through the space and Ed was once again carried off into a memory.

_"Do you really have to do this?" Byakuran asked._

_"I have to go, Byakuran..." Ed replied, golden eyes heavy with sadness, "I promise I'll be back again, with Al."_

_Byakuran looked down, "I know, but even though you say that... I can't help but feel like you might not come back this time."_

_Ed smiled, kneeling down, "Even if I don't come back... even if I am lying this time... I know you'll be fine. You need to stand on your own two feet."_

_Looking up at him, Violet eyes dimmed slightly, "Before you go... I need to tell you something..."_

_"What?" Ed inquired._

_"It's something I didn't tell you all something..." Byakuran began, "I'm not... from here..."_

_Ed smiled, "Of course you aren't, you would've been home by now if you were."_

_"No, I mean I'm not FROM here," Byakuran said, emphasizing the word, "My father was a famous scientist where I'm from, and he was researching some sort of powerful energy. This kind of energy that could do many amazing things. He developed a theory where you could travel through time using this supreme force. However, something went wrong. That's how I ended up here."_

_"What are you trying to say?" Ed asked, golden eyes narrowing in disbelief._

_"I'm not from here, because I'm from the future of this world..." Byakuran explained, "It's okay if you don't believe me, I didn't want to believe it at first either. I just wanted it to be some sort of dream..."_

_Ed smiled, standing up, "Well, if I believe it or not doesn't really matter, all that matters is what you believe. If you firmly believe that, try to find your way back home. That'll give you something to do if I'm gone."_

_Ed turned around, heading for the door._

_"Good-bye, Aniki," Byakuran said softly._

_Ed merely waved over his shoulder, "Good luck, Byakuran."_

The dream faded out once more, but instead of the usual darkness that was there, there only was a startling white. A single, small orb of a darker color floated in the center of the space.

Ed drifted over to it, reaching out his hands, trying to grasp the orb with all his might. Finger tips barely brushing it, he felt his vision get blurry as everything faded to black.

Shapes flew through his eyes as he surveyed his surroundings. He was shocked to find himself, fighting with his allies.

He tried with all his might to stop, but he couldn't control his body; he couldn't even scream. Ed watched helplessly as his body continued to move without his control, "Was this what my body was doing while I was trapped wherever that was?" Ed questioned himself.

* * *

><p>Ed twirled, slashing away the razor sharp wires that bound him with his automail blade. He ran forward, jumping into a handstand and spinning, sticking out his legs, to land a succession of kicks on his opponents. He jumped back to his feet, quickly catching Ryohei's fist that swung at him.<p>

Twisting the offensive limb, he forced Ryohei into a spiral, quickly slamming the boxer down into the ground. Ed growled when someone came up behind him and grabbed his arms, kicking out his feet and pinning him to the ground as well.

"Kufufufu, I just need to keep you down until we can get you to the Vongola.

Ed threw back his head, nailing Mukuro in the jaw. Using the small opening, he wriggled out of the illusionist's grasp, back-flipping to gain some distance between them.

Everyone readied their next attack, lighting their flames.

They were about to charge, until all of their flames flared up without their command. **(A/N: This part isn't going to be very detailed and I'm SO sorry about that, but the sad thing is, I lost everything I spent so much time typing after this point because my computer is STUPID so I apologize. I'm also gonna skip some parts)**

The group tried and tried again to attack the mysterious entity, who Kikyo informed was Ghost, but to no avail.

All hope seemed lost as their flames were absorbed by Ghost. As their flames were drained, so was their energy. They watched as Ghost grew closer and closer to Uni's location.

"I WON'T LET THAT HAPPEN!" A voice yelled.

The group whirled around, staring at the dot forming over the horizon.

"JUUDAIME!" Gokudera shouted out, a grin on his face.

Changing the stance of his hands, Tsuna prepared his attack. Zero Point Breakthrough: Revised.

He grit his teeth as his own flames were absorbed by Ghost. The two collided together, a large shockwave shooting outward, knocking everyone back.

A few moments passed and Tsuna's and Ghost's cries could be heard. Dust clouded their vision and everyone waited anxiously for the result.

The dust cleared and everyone saw the result. The entity known as Ghost was no more.

Tsuna flipped down, landing in a crouch on the ground. He straightened and turned, surveying his surroundings.

Amber eyes widened when they landed on the form of Edward Elric.

"Edward-sensei!" Tsuna called as he ran towards his teacher.

His eyes became shocked when Edward charged towards him, automail blade raised.

Shock turned to horror when Ed ceased his movements, a trident pierced through his stomach.

Ed's arms dropped to his sides as blood trickled out of his mouth. A brief light flickered in his eyes and he craned his head around, lips twitching in an attempt to form words, "Th...Thank...you..."

Mukuro stared at him impassively, hands gripped around the pole of the trident which was still stabbed through Ed, "You're back to yourself?"

"Kind... of..." Ed muttered, coughing slightly causing more blood to spew out of his mouth, "It's... taking... all my willpower... to keep... this up..."

Mukuro smirked slightly, "Vongola!"

"What?" Tsuna questioned.

"You want to save your teacher, yes?"

Tsuna nodded stiffly, slightly apprehensive.

"If my theory is correct, there should be a way for you to save him," Mukuro explained, "Absorb his flame."

"Why?" Tsuna inquired.

"Just do it!" Mukuro said, "He might lose control again if you wait much longer."

Tsuna nodded and ran forward, readying his attack. He drew close to Ed and pressed his hands to the blonde' forehead, focusing on absorbing the flames. He ceased the attack when the blonde fell limp and fell to his knees.

"Edward... sensei?" Tsuna asked again.

Edward looked up, smiling and wincing slightly, "Thank the gate you got here... I think I might've gone crazy..."

Tsuna smiled widely.

"Impressive indeed!"

Eyes widened and bodies turned, staring up into the sky.

"You managed to defeat ghost so easily!" Byakuran called from the sky, "You even managed to free Fullmetal-kun!"

"Byakuran!"

Ed stared at him, gaze hardening.

He stood, stumbling slightly, "BYAKURAN!"

The white haired man, stared down at him, ever-present smile still on his face, "What were those memories!?"

"Memories?" Byakuran questioned, violet eyes opening in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

"You mean you didn't fake the memories?" Ed questioned, "The memories of you in Amestris?"

Byakuran's violet eyes widened in shock, before returning to normal size, "So you finally remembered... Aniki..."

Everyone turned in shock to face the golden eyed alchemist, who continued to stare impassively at the boss of the Millefiore.

* * *

><p><strong>LunarFallenStar0o0: And this chapter is finished~! Hopefully this makes up for the lack of action in the last chapter.<strong>


	26. Chapter 26

**LunarFallenStar: Hey guys! Another late ****update! I'm so lazy! Anyway, thank you all for reading this story and I hope you like it! Thank you as well to those who reviewed! I hope you all enjoy this chapter! And also, with the last chapter, I have one thing to say MWAHAHA! Plot twist~ My favorite thing~ I actually wasn't originally gonna' have Byakuran and Ed be that close and Byakuran be a little kid or anything like that. BUT we had to make up and ending to a story that didn't have the ending written for it in Literature class, and my friend did this HUGE plot twist and it gave me this idea XD anyway, the reply to reviews is at the end of the chapter, that way people who don't want to read it don't have to scroll like crazy to get to the story. Anyway, thanks for reading and Enjoy~!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~Previously~<strong>_

_**The white haired man stared down at Ed, ever-present smile still on his face, "What were those memories!?"**_

_**"Memories?" Byakuran questioned, violet eyes opening in confusion, "What are you talking about?"**_

_**"You mean you didn't fake the memories?" Ed questioned, "The memories of you in Amestris?"**_

_**Byakuran's violet eyes widened in shock, before returning to normal size, "So you finally remembered... Aniki..."**_

_**Everyone turned in shock to face the golden eyed alchemist, who continued to stare impassively at the boss of the Millefiore.**_

* * *

><p>"WHAT?!" Tsuna's shriek permeated the thick silence, "WHAT'S GOING ON?"<p>

"That's the first time I've heard Juudaime shriek in HDW..." Gokudera muttered in shock.

"I see dear 'Aniki' finally remembered me, huh?" Byakuran whistled, ever-present adorned on his pale face.

Ed sighed and turned a glare towards Byakuran, "Cut the crap, Byakuran..."

"Oh? So cold, Fullmetal-kun," Byakuran winced in mock pain, "Sure, I'm not the 'Byakuran' you knew back in Amestris, but I have the same soul matter so to speak. I also know of all of the time that parallel me spent with you."

Ed grit his teeth slightly in frustration.

"But you know the strange thing, Fullmetal-kun?" Byakuran continued, "The one thing I could never understand about your world... It was strange indeed in the fact that it only had a single parallel, it was not connected to any other world, just that other single parallel... this world we occupy now. Strange isn't it?"

The golden-eyed alchemist stared at the Mafia boss in confusion, "Why is this so important, Byakuran?"

"I would say it's important because there has only ever been two of 'you', Edward Elric, and you've already killed your parallel. That means, there is only one 'Edward Elric' in the entirety of the universe, while there is many thousands of us..."

"I see no relevance in this," Ed growled.

"It means, that no matter how hard the me that knew you searched and searched, I would have had the most tiny, insignificant chance to find you. That's cruel, don't you think?"

"Equivalent Exchange Byakuran..." Ed replied simply, smirking slightly, "Maybe the gate knew you'd be such a bastard in this world it had to take some happiness from the other you as compensation."

A thick silence settled upon the battle field as glares were shot between both sides.

"What do you mean Edward-sensei killed his parallel?" Tsuna spoke up, everyone else watching the scene in confusion.

"Tsunayoshi-kun? Didn't you know that only one person possessing the same soul can naturally exist in the same world at a time? Sure, it's possible, but a large price has to be paid in order for that to happen," Byakuran explained matter-of-factly.

As Byakuran turned to face the young mafia-don, he did not expect the metal fist that collided with the back of his head, hurtling him downward.

Byakuran turned midair to face the attacker and his violet eyes met burning gold.

Ed panted heavily before falling as the pillar he constructed crumbled and fell.

Colliding heavily with the ground, the alchemist lay in a crumpled heap. Tsuna rushed over to his teacher, attacks colliding with the Millefiore boss over his head.

"Edward-sensei!" Tsuna called, kneeling beside his teacher, staring at the blonde's heavily injured form, "Why are you so injured? Shouldn't you be healing?"

Coughing into his hand, Ed smirked at his student, "Even though you cleared me of the mind control, the drug they injected me with to stunt my flames is still flowing through my system. Apparently, these flames are what help to heal me quickly..."

Tsuna stared at him in worry, "Are you sure you'll be fine?"

Stumbling slightly as he stood, Ed gradually got to his feet, "I won't die that easily. I CAN'T die for that matter anyway."

Brown eyes, now burning an iridescent orange, stared at the alchemist, a smile twitching at the corner of his lips.

The Elric smirked and laughed softly, ruffling the Vongola boss's fluffy hair, ignoring the deathperation flames that licked at his skin, "Go get 'im tiger."

The teacher stumbled away, waving slightly over his shoulder.

Tsuna smiled briefly, whirling around to face his opponent, serious expression falling over his face.

The smoke from the attacks cleared, and Tsuna glared at Byakuran. Fist clenched in determination, the brunette stuck out his arm, gesturing for all attacks to cease, "Everyone, stay back... I'll be his match!"

Byakuran chuckled, "Do you know why I've come out here, Tsunayoshi-kun? Because I'm ready now: both my heart and my body."

"I've been ready," Tsuna replied coldly, his form disappearing as he prepared his attack, "For ages."

The Vongola Decimo charged forward, reappearing behind the Millefiore boss in a flash. Spinning around, the brunette landed a swift kick on Byakuran's chin, the albino flying backwards.

"He's quick...!" Xanxus remarked, watching the scene with analytical crimson eyes.

Violet eyes widened as Tsuna reached out with a gloved hand, gripping harshly onto albino hair. Dragging down Byakuran's head, he brought up his knee and collided it against the mafioso's face.

Mismatched eyes observed the fight with analytical eyes, '_So this is the Sawada Tsunayoshi brought from the past to train and undergo severe trials and battles in this generation...' _

Tsuna lunged at Byakuran, pulling back a gloved fist, igniting it with an intensely charged sky flame. He shot his fist forward, connecting it onto the body of Byakuran.

His eyes widened.

The Millefiore boss blocked it with a single finger.

"Oh, what's wrong? Is this all you've got?" Byakuran chuckled, a hum in his voice, "Well then, I guess it's my turn."

A single beam of highly condensed flames shot out from the tip of his finger, sending the young mafioso hurtling back towards the earth.

"White finger!"

Upon colliding with the earth, an unimaginably large dust cloud rose from the ground, passing over even the height of the tall trees. The dust and debris blocked everyone's view.

"TSUNA!" Yamamoto yelled out, peering intently through the dust.

"That just now..." Dino murmured under his breath, staring in shock at the destruction.

"You don't mean to say this is as much you can handle, do you?" Byakuran laughed like it was the best joke he's ever heard, "I stil haven't even used a tenth of the flames that Ghost absorbed!"

"What?!" Gokudera shouted in shock, causing Ryohei to yell demandingly right afterword, "The flames ghost absorbed?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Basil growled under his breath.

"Hm? You don't get it do you, Ghost stole your flames right? Well, those flames are all..." Byakuran broke off, unfurling a pair of pure white wings, rainbows of color streaming off of them, "Inside my body~!"

Byakuran chuckled darkly, his laughter piercing the very air as his power overflows for all of them to see. He truly unveils himself finally, showing that the true battle has finally begun.

Lower, on the ground, Tsuna growled, wiping blood away from his lip. The dust settled once more to the ground and Tsuna fell to his knees, grunting out in pain.

"Are you all right, Tsunayoshi-kun?" Byakuran sang out in mock concern.

"Byakuran... that flame...?!" Basil stuttered.

"He received those flames from Ghost?!" Gokudera choked out, "All of the flames ghost absorbed are his now?!"

Kikyo stared at his boss in wonder.

"Absorbing others' flames without directly touching them..." Dino yelled at Byakuran, "I've never heard of that before!"

Byakuran chuckled, "Ghost wasn't just 'someone'... he was the me present in another parallel world~"

Everyone stared at him in shock, "Wha-?!"

"Other than the ability to absorb flames... he also had the ability to share them. Though, in the end..." Byakuran said, narrowing his violet eyes, "It was my ability after all."

"What is he talking about...?" Ryohei questioned, spurring Yamamoto to reply dumb-foundedly, "I-I don't know."

"If you say that," Mukuro began, his own mismatched eyes narrowing dangerously, "If the dying will flames of every one of us, with the exception of Sawada Tsunayoshi, have now been obtained by Byakuran. The total amount of that flame, is unmeasurable!"

"Are you trying to say that you're a god Byakuran?" Ed growled under his breath, "I thought I already lectured you about that..."

O-ho? A god?" Kikyo chuckled, "Byakuran-sama would better be described as a demon worthy of worship."

Tsuna stumbled to his feet, "That's not important."

Amused violet eyes stared at the brunette in wonder, a small smirk appearing upon his pale face.

"It doesn't matter what you are... or what means you use," Tsuna assured, clenching his fist in determination, "I'll defeat you here!"

"I admire your spirit, Tsunayoshi-kun~" Byakuran chuckled, bringing up his own ring-clad hand, "I've been waiting for this fight for a long time~!"

Flames lit up upon their rings, growing in great size, both burning with passion.

"The atmosphere has become purely electrifying," Fran remarked monotonously.

Tsuna shot up, throwing punch after punch at his opponent, who stood, well, floated rather, impassively, flinching not even once.

"It's useless Tsunayoshi-kun," Byakuran chuckled, "You're just not powerful enough."

"Tch!" Tsuna gritted his teeth, flying back, thoughts racing, '_He didn't even flinch! And the power of his flames are still growing..._'

"Come and play with my pet," Byakuran practically purred, bringing up his hand, a white dragon forming along it, "White Dragon!"

'_His hand became a dragon?!_' Tsuna thought in disbelief, '_No... It's a box weapon,_' He noted, seeing an open box hanging from the inside of Byakuran's coat.

Byakuran flung the white dragon towards Tsuna, the box weapon baring its fangs menacingly.

"Natsu!" Tsuna called.

The tiny, sky-flame lion appeared, quickly turning into a cloak to block the oncoming attack.

The dragon dissipated and Natsu reverted to his original form, panting slightly with a few scratches littering his skin.

"Natsu?!" Tsuna called in worry, inspecting his box animals, "Are you alright?"

"Isn't having a dragon box weapon amazing? It's the greatest, made exclusively for me!" Byakuran chuckled, "I'm impressed though, you managed to hold up against its power without dying. However, you won't be so lucky next time."

Byakuran's eyes narrowed dangerously, forming another dragon on his hand.

The dragon shot forward, its white fangs flashing dangerously. Natsu growled, glaring coldly at the approaching weapon.

It collided with them,residual flames rising up around them and blocking everyone's view. When all the flames dissipated, Tsuna stood tall, hands jabbing at the dragon. Ice slowly formed over the head of the dragon, spreading through the entirety of its body before it shattered completely.

Tsuna drew back his fist, "Natsu! Cambio Forma: Attack mode!"

Natsu perched on top of Tsuna's outstretched hand, growling, the emblem on his head glowing as he switched to Cambio Forma.

Tsuna charged forward, clenching his fist as he prepared to attack.

Up ahead, Byakuran chuckled, "Interesting! With this, I know your true strength, Tsunayoshi-kun."

Tsuna's eyes widened before narrowing dangerously, '_He's making fun of me..._'

Tsuna swung his fist forward, an orb of highly charged flames shooting towards Byakuran, "BIG BANG AXEL!"

Byakuran touched the tips of his fingers together, deep in thought before holding out his hands, humming out, "Okay~!"

The attack drew closer and closer, soon between Byakuran's hands. He smiled, clapping his hands together causing the attack to dissipate, "White Applause!"

"Wh-!" Tsuna gasped in shock.

Byakuran chuckled, eyes remaining closed, "The Vongola Box," He paused, violet eyes opening, "Has been beaten."

"H-He destroyed it..." Dino stuttered.

"The white applause is the ultimate defense technique that will destroy any and all attacks. How was that Tsunayoshi-kun? I bet you have never fought a fight where you'd feel the difference in powers so big," Byakuran turned his cold, piercing violet gaze to Tsuna, "Very scary, ain't it?"

Tsuna stood frozen mid-air, eyes wide and body stiff with fear.

Ed stared at his student, pleading silently in his mind, '_Don't freeze up, Tsunayoshi-kun... don't freeze..._' Ed repeated over and over in his mind. This whole situation reminded him of when he was facing off against the human Barry the Chopper.

"Even though you're a boss of a mafia family, you're still just a middle-schooler, no need to feel so embarrassed," Byakuran mocked, charging up his flames before charging towards Tsuna, "It's okay to wet yourself!"

He swung down his hand, cutting Tsuna deeply in the shoulder. The brunette hurtled back towards the ground, grunting in pain as he fell.

"Even..." Byakuran began, charging down towards the kneeling Tsuna.

Tsuna was hunched over on the ground, blood dripping from his mouth and badly injured shoulder. He stiffened in surprise when Byakuran suddenly appeared behind him.

"Dying is okay~" Byakuran finished his sentence, arms wrapping around his neck and placing the teen in a headlock.

Red liquid shot out of his mouth as Tsuna choked.

Ed, gripping his wounds painfully, stumbled forward slightly, "TSUNA!"

The brunette in the middle of the small crater spotted his teacher out of the corner of his eye, '_That's the first time... Edward-sensei hasn't called me Tsunayoshi-kun..._' he thought idly.

"Tsunayoshi-kun! You're so helpless right now! I could even snap your thin little neck so easily right now!" Byakuran put emphasis on this by tightening the fierce grip he had on Tsuna, "I expected a much better match. You're more of a disappointment than I thought you would be. The size of your flames conveys the amount of resolve you possess. Is your resolve to save everyone and return your friends to the past really that insignificant?"

Tsuna gritted his teeth, tightening the grip he had on the arm currently strangling him, quickly igniting the flame on his ring, '_We're all going back home... to the past!_'

In turn, Byakuran raised the level of his flames, spurring Tsuna to do the same. So, the cycle continued, both sides' flames increasing in power and intensity 'til it was so great, it completely filled the forest clearing.

A strange sound filled the stillness, as a strange barrier formed around the two fighters. All the onlookers became shocked as Yuni floated towards them, a matching field surrounding her as well.

"Y-Yuni?!" Tsuna gasped, "Don't g-get any... cl- closer!"

"The stage has finally been set! A stage where only the sky's trinisette can exist!" Byakuran chuckled before tightening his hold on Tsuna's neck, "Though, since I have no use for you anymore, Tsunayoshi-kun... I'll get rid of you now so that I can have the stage for Yuni and myself."

Tsuna began to writhe and choke. Yuni screamed, "STOP!"

"Hm? Don't you think that it's just a tad too late to ask me to stop?" Byakuran hummed, "You were the one that forced the Vongola to risk their lives to protect you, Yuni~ I'm sure you knew that their opponent would be me, whom they're mere ants before. You only served to run around blindly, like some tragic act, increasing the number of victims. You're far too selfish for your own good~"

A bright light shone under Yuni's cloak.

"What was that just now?" Byakuran hummed, "You're hiding something inside of your cape aren't you?"

"No..." Yuni murmured, pulling the article of clothing tighter around her. As if on cue, the pacifiers of the Arcobaleno dropped out one by one, rolling along the ground.

"The Arcobaleno... are being reborn..." Reborn murmured, staring at the scene.

"It is told that through the power of the Sky Arcobaleno's flames can revive the other Arcobaleno when they are in a death-like state. I'd never thought that it would be from the pacifiers though..."

"If the Arcobaleno are revived, the balance to this world will be restored and they could even fight alongside Sawada!" Lal Mirch murmured, "They may be able to defeat Byakuran!"

"That's true. There's no non-trinisette device in this place to kill them, and they are quite powerful," Byakuran smirked, "However, by the looks of things, it will be a while before the Arcobaleno to completely revive."

Yuni's eyes widened as she gasped.

"I've hit the mark," Byakuran hummed as his grip around Tsuna became even tighter.

A large crack resounded in the silence.

"TSUNA/TENTH/SAWADA-SAN!" Mixed shouts of Tsuna's various names rung out as the brunette fell to the floor, the flame upon his forehead flickering out completely.

Byakuran slowly advanced towards Yuni who was still in shock, "Now now, Yuni-chan, don't cry~ Crying will get you no where. The Arcobaleno won't be here to save you either."

"You're right," A voice spoke up.

Both people still standing turned to face the source of the voice in shock.

"The ones who'll defeat you aren't the Arcobaleno. The one who defeats you will be my student..." Reborn assured, eyes shining dangerously from under the shade of his fedora, "Tsuna."

* * *

><p><strong>LunarFallenStar0o0: And this chapter is finally finished~! Bye-bi~!<strong>

**majishan: Thanks for the review! And I'm glad you were so surprised. That's what I was going for!**

**Rainord: Thanks for the review and I'm glad you liked the story. Sorry for the late update for this chapter. And one more thing... MWAHAHA plot twist~**

**archsage328: Thanks for the review! And yay~ Mission accomplished. I just kinda' wanted to troll everyone in some way with that (mainly because of how much Amano-sensei has been trolling us with the KHR chapters lately) You can choose who the prisoner was, I just wanted it to be some baddie from one of the franchises. Maybe I'll revel who it was later but who knows. And crazy people UNITE!**

**easha: I just luv WTF scenes~ Thanks for the review**

**YuyaKnightwriter97: MWAHAHA PLOT TWIST~ I bet you weren't expecting that XD I just love being the author sometimes. Anyway, thanks for review!**

**UniCryin: Thanks for the review and I'm sorry I didn't meet your 'ass-kicking' quota. Anyway, I wanted Ed and Byakuran to be really close in Amestris for some reason. I also just kinda' wanted to know what it feels like to 'troll' someone to some degree. Probably because of how much Amano-sensei's been trolling us in her latest chapters.**

**HebaAce: Thanks for the review! And glad you liked the EXTREME plot twist! And OMG ikr? Bermuda's un-cursed form was like a mix between a strange cat thing and a frog-amphibian thing. I'm not even going to try describing the strangeness of that guy... anyway, hope you liked this chapter.**


	27. Chapter 27

**LunarFallenStar: Hey guys! Have a happy new years! Another late ****update! I'm so lazy! It's kinda' starting to annoy me that I have to go back and read the previous chapter to even know what's happening in my own story /sigh. I'm pathetic. For any info on updates or anything like that, check my profile. I'll try to put notifications and things like that up there whenever I can. Oh, and before I forget, I'm debating on looking for someone to beta this... but I'm more on the shy side, so I never end up asking anyone... /sigh. If anyone wants to beta this, shoot me a PM or talk to me in some way... Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>~Previously~<strong>_

_**A large crack resounded in the silence.**_

_**"TSUNA/TENTH/SAWADA-SAN!" Mixed shouts of Tsuna's various names rung out as the brunette fell to the floor, the flame upon his forehead flickering out completely.**_

_**Byakuran slowly advanced towards Yuni who was still in shock, "Now now, Yuni-chan, don't cry~ Crying will get you no where. The Arcobaleno won't be here to save you either."**_

_**"You're right," A voice spoke up.**_

_**Both people still standing turned to face the source of the voice in shock.**_

_**"The ones who'll defeat you aren't the Arcobaleno. The one who defeats you will be my student..." Reborn assured, eyes shining dangerously from under the shade of his fedora, "Tsuna."**_

* * *

><p>An eery silence settled on the battle-field as all eyes were upon the mafioso. The baby hitman stared at his student from his perch upon Fuuta's shoulder.<p>

Byakuran cackled loudly, "So your strategy is to slap some motivation into him now of all times? Just face it, you all can't win! Haven't you been paying attention? I've already beaten Tsunayoshi-kun."

"Don't underestimate the strength of my student's dying will," Reborn said, "I'm not even talking about whether you can win. Tsuna... you have no other choice than to defeat Byakuran."

The white haired mafioso continued to chuckle madly, "This is the best joke I've heard in ages. Still trying to invoke confidence into him? Ha!"

The baby mafioso continued, undeterred by Byakuran's verbal bashings, "Listen up, Dame-Tsuna! You're not the only one fighting in this, putting their life on the line. Yuni's also sacrificing her life so that after you win you can all return to a peaceful past! The revival of the Arcobalenos does more than restore the precarious balance of the world. It's the key to returning you to a peaceful past. Yuni intends to give up her life to achieve that."

Byakuran giggled, his demeanor severely clashing with everyone's shocked moods, "Eh? Is that so?"

"Uncle Reborn..." Yuni murmured, "How... Why do you know about this?"

"Of course I know," Reborn stated matter-of-factly, "You and your grandmother have always thought alike after all."

The white haired mafioso clicked his tongue, "I can't let precious Yuni-chan do something like that. Who are you to decide to do anything as absurd as this, when you exist solely for my sake? Now, come back-"

A hacked cough cut off the mafia don's words. All eyes darted back to the battered and bruised teen, coughing and wheezing in pain.

Tsuna raised his gaze to peer at Byakuran, trying his best to overcome his trembles, "I won't... Hand Yuni... Over... to the likes... of you..."

Byakuran nearly doubled over in laughter, tell-tale grin making his way to his face, "The body is so honest, don't you think? It's engraved into your very being. The feeling of being crushed that is. Your trembling is almost contagious!"

Tsuna's gaze became downcast, swelling showing through on his face as one eye remained half lidded. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of Dino's face as he stared at his 'little brother', "This isn't good... Tsuna can't fight when his Dying Will has decreased so greatly."

Inside the barrier, Byakuran's voice rose as he continued his tangent. The white haired man made an effort to point out each and every one of the brunette's flaws and mistakes. He smirked, "Despite all that, your biggest misfortune is that you even came to this generation. If you hadn't been brought here, you would never have had to undergo this pain! Doesn't it make you curse your own fate?"

Tsuna rose slightly, picking himself into a more upright position. Trying to keep his voice from wavering, the teenager spoke, "No... That's not exactly true..."

That one line piqued the interest of the Millefiore boss, and earned the surprise of everyone else.

"True... The future is scary and painful and full of uncertainties. There's only a few times where I can say I've truly felt happy since coming here... but... despite that, I feel as though... I understand all that now. It doesn't matter if it was good or bad, because everything that happens here... is a precious part of my life!"

Staring at his boss in disbelief, Gokudera muttered a weak, "Juudaime..."

Yamamoto's lips had settled into a thin line, eyes unwavering as he stared at his best friend.

Edward smiled, staring at his student, '_Reborn sure taught you well..._'

"You sure look at things weirdly, but I want you to think very carefully," A white dragon formed on Byakuran's hand as a cheshire grin dominated his features, "If you die, that'll only be a way to comfort yourself."

Everyone's eyes widened in horror.

Holding up his weapon, Gokudera shouted in anger as a blast of condensed storm flames was launched towards the seemingly impenetrable barrier, "NO!"

The albino hummed in thought, before minimizing the dragon slightly, "You're right. In this state, a mini white dragon through his heart should be enough."

Tsuna staggered back, holding his mittened hands up in a manner of defense, "W-WAIT!"

"Don't wanna," Byakuran chuckled, throwing the deadly projectile towards the Vongola Decimo.

A strangled cry was all that was heard as he fell to the floor.

"TSUNA!"  
>"SAWADA-SAN!"<br>"JUUDAIME!"

"Now, Yuni-chan!" Byakuran chuckled, "Your knight in shining armor is gone~! What will you-"

"Ow..."

A weak murmur was soon echoed by an even louder cry.

"OWWW!"

Tsuna shot to a kneeling position, hacking and coughing, much to everyone's shock. Ripping the top of his shirt to expose where the dragon had hit him, Tsuna pulled at chain hanging around his neck. The soft glint of metal could be seen.

The chain broke under the strain, and Tsuna held up a ring. The ring that had blocked the attack.

"Lancia-san's ring!"

"A ring blocked my attack?!" Byakuran growled, glaring at the offending object.

'_That's the ring!_' Basil recalled, '_The ring that Sawada-dono received from Lancia-dono ten years ago!_'

Gripping the ring more tightly in his hand, Tsuna's eyes once more leveled with Byakuran's, "It's true after all... Everything that's happened up 'til now has had some purpose. Nothing that has happened since I came here has been pointless. The painful things, the bitter things, the fun things... It's because of everyone, that I'm even able to stand here now. All the things that I've found since coming here- the skills, and the weapons alike. None of it would have done any good if I'd been alone. It's because everyone was here that I was able to achieve them. Would you call that unlucky...? I wouldn't."

A small smile settled onto his face, "The time I've spent here with everyone, is an irreplaceable treasure to me. My flames... were born because of this world you've taken over! These are everyone's flames! The fact that you've hurt all those innocent people..." Tsuna clenched his fists, a flame flickering on his forehead. As he slipped into HDW, he glared harshly at Byakuran, "I'LL MAKE YOU REGRET IT!"

Everyone gaped in a mix of shock and awe at the young mafia don.

Byakuran's laugh cut off all signs of rejoicing though, "I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but you're still in quite the predicament! I'm still much stronger than you! Nothing has changed!"

"_I wonder about that._"

Everyone looked around as an unknown voice flitted to their ears.

Golden eyes widened in recognition as a smile settled on his features.

Th guardians each looked at their rings, every one of them glowing an iridescent color corresponding to their flames.

Above Lambo, the first guardian, Lampo, appeared, in a haze of pale green, "_That child's words are the same as our boss's._"

Asari chuckled slightly, appearing above Yamamoto, "_Isn't that to be expected? The same blood runs through him after all._"

Knuckles grunted in agreement, Ryohei gazing up at him stupefied from below, "_He's truly on his way to be an extraordinary man._"

Daemon clicked his tongue, staring impassively at the scene, "_It's a shame. The Vongola can't benefit from such weak ideals._"

Hibari stared up at his ancestor, Alaude, who only offered a few words, "_How dull._"

G was silent, bangs shadowing over his eyes. He looked up, smirking, "_Just do what you want, like you always do._"

"_You're right... G._"

A bright light flooded from Tsuna's ring as all eyes drifted towards the Vongola Decimo.

"_Decimo, I agree with your thoughts..._"

"Where are you?!" Byakuran shouted, looking around, "Whose voice is that!?"

Yuni looked at the scene, eyes widening ever so slightly, '_Vongola's founders... The family of Vongola's first generation... Elric-san's dear friends..._'

"_I wish I could lend power to my true successor, but unfortunately, I cannot,_" The Vongola crest glowed to life as none other than Giotto appeared next to Tsuna, holding up his gloves, "_And it appears my bodyguard who is now assigned to watch over you is too injured to be of use_," The blond Italian added, briefly glancing to Ed, who rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"_Instead,_" Giotto said, a light shining on the back of his gloves, "_I shall free you, from those shackles._"

Byakuran's grin faltered slightly, but still remained present, "What kind of a joke is this? Who is that man standing next to you, Tsunayoshi-kun?"

"It's the first generation Vongola boss!" Yuni called out, "Vongola Primo!"

"Primo? Isn't it a little late for cheep jokes?" Byakuran could barely suppress his laugh, "That's foul to program a projection at a time like this!"

"Stop fooling yourself, Byakuran!" Yuni declared, "I know you can tell, that that man is no mere projection! This is something that could never happen inside the trinisette, your mare ring, or my pacifier! It's the Vongola Ring's 'Miracle of the Shield Dimension'."

"Miracle of the... Shield dimension?"

"There is a song that has been etched into my memory since the day of my birth," Yuni explained, eyes looking solemn, "The sea knows no limit to its vastness, shellfish live through the ages, inheriting their shapes, and the rainbow appears every now and then, only to fade away again. Mare means 'sea', Vongola means 'shellfish', and Arcobaleno means 'rainbow'. This song portrays the different skies of the trinisette.

The endless 'mare' is the horizontal dimensional axis. In other words, it lives across the parallel worlds. The Vongola, which lives through the generations, is a vertical dimensional axis. Which means it lives from past to present, preserving tradition. And lastly, the arcobaleno, which never stays in one place. It exists not as a line, but as points within the two dimensions. Just like Byakuran has the ability to share knowledge across parallel worlds, Sawada-san has inherited Vongola's own 'time'."

"Time..." Tsuna murmured, eyes flickering as he remembered something, "That's right! I remember!"

"What a baseless story!" Byakuran challenged, "I had the power to see other parallel worlds before I even possessed the mare ring!"

"That is merely because," Yuni responded, "You were always the rightful wearer of the ring. Just like Vongola Primo."

"_Now, Decimo..._" Primo said, "_Allow me to unleash your full potential._"_  
><em>

Everyone stared at the Primo, waiting for the blond to make his move.

"_The current form of the Vongola Ring is only temporary. In order to preserve the strict process of succession of the Vongola... It was split into two and divided amongst the outside adviser and the boss. However, to sustain this, the power of the rings, the flame output was restrained. It's power decreased greatly compared to the Arcobaleno pacifiers and mare ring._"

He drew closer to Tsuna, touching the back of his gloves to the back of Tsuna's, a gust of energy rippling from their weapons, "_There is no need for that anymore, for I know that as my true successor, you'll understand both the true meaning of the ring and my will._"

Suddenly, flames began to pour out of the Vongola Rings. A bright light blocked everyone's view. When the lights faded, everyone stared at the awakened form of the rings. A gem was embedded in each one, the emblem of their attribute carved onto the sparkling surface. The Sky Ring stuck out though, containing a gem for each of the attributes.

"This is the true form of the Vongola Ring?!"

Leveling himself with Tsuna, Giotto clasped a hand on his shoulder, "_Decimo. Give that mare kid a scare._"

Saying that, Giotto slowly faded away.

"Haha, I guess you two are related!" Byakuran chuckled, "You're both fools-"

The albino was unable to continue his mocking as he was sent flying into the walls of the barrier by a blast of sky flames. Everyone's shock was noticeable on their faces at the clearly noticeable change in power. Tsuna stood, left arm poised in front of him and his right arm extended towards the back.

Byakuran peeled himself off the wall and clicked his tongue, "I guess it has become a bit more powerful!"

The Millefiore boss charged at Tsuna, white dragon readied on his arm.

"Natsu!" Tsuna called, cloak falling around him as he blocked the attack easily. The opposite glove glowed brightly, changing to the offensive form. Tsuna pulled back his hand, charging up power. Shooting his fist forward, he called out, "BURNING AXEL!"

'_His reflexes are fast!_' Byakuran realized with annoyance, bringing his hands together to block the attack, "White Applause!" He winced slightly when not all of the power was blocked and his hands suffered.

Smirking, Byakuran laughed, "Too bad. My power is only at eighty percent so far!"

Tsuna appeared behind him, attack readied, "I'm only at half."

The attack burned into the Millefiore boss's back, ripping and burning the skin and clothes found there. Shooting to meet up with him, Tsuna wrapped his fingers around the base of each of the albino's wings. Flipping in the air, his foot was brought down on the top of Byakuran's head, sending the albino spiraling down to the ground. A wing remained in each hand.

Dust, rubble, and debris clouded everyone's view of Byakuran. Tsuna stared down impassively from his position in the sky, nonchalantly lighting the wings on fire and dropping them, letting gravity drag them back down to the earth.

"What's wrong, Byakuran?" Tsuna inquired, "Are you reduced to a mere human without your wings?"

A chuckle could be heard in the midst of the debris. Byakuran's laughing face soon emerged from the natural smoke screen, "You're amazing, Tsunayoshi-kun! You're the only one I've ever had to use my full strength against! I'm so... HAPPY!"

Black wings seemingly made of some sort of liquid jutted from his back in place of his destroyed white ones.

"Just changing your appearance won't be enough to defeat me, Byakuran," Tsuna assured, wiping blood from his lower lip.

Byakuran chuckled, "Who said it was just my appearance that is different? I'd advise you to stop playing games!"

Byakuran soared into the air, clashing with Tsuna halfway. Natsu launched towards the albino, planning to either attack or distract the man. Byakuran swatted at the annoying box animal, briefly lowering his guard. That was all Tsuna needed as he quickly rammed his elbow into Byakuran's cheek. The man's neck twisted painfully and he flew backwards. Regaining his balance, Byakuran quickly launched two black dragons towards the Vongola Decimo.

Tsuna shot forward, weaving between the dragons with ease and avoiding danger. He launched a punch at Byakuran who barely had time to block the blow with his forearm.

"Is that all you got?" Tsuna inquired, "I've only just gotten started."

"Ha! In that case," Byakuran said, black wings pulsing and shooting out with more force, "This is only the start for me!"

Byakuran sent out more attacks, however, they were hands this time as opposed to the dragons he had previously used. Tsuna charged the flames on his glove and batted them away effortlessly.

The dismembered hands went off in different directions. Some flying towards Yuni, who was preoccupied with pouring her flames into the pacifiers. Luckily, a barrier had formed around the sky Arcobaleno, keeping her safe. For now that is.

"The dispensing of the flames into her pacifier has really begun," Byakuran noted bitterly, "You're really going to do this, aren't you, Yuni...? You're really going to sacrifice your life for these pacifiers!"

Everyone stared at the Sky Arcobaleno, the full enormity of what she was going to do finally setting in fully.

"Y-Yuni?!" Tsuna called, stuttering despite his heightened awareness and calmed state, "There's no need for you to sacrifice yourself for the Arcobaleno!"

"I must," Yuni said solemnly, a peaceful smile settling on her face, "Their revival is crucial in order return you all to a peaceful past."

Tsuna's eyes bored into her, searching for an answer to her roundabout way of explaining.

"And in turn, it will save many innocent lives as well... The time has finally come for me to be good use of my powers... this is the only chance I can take, and my destiny," Yuni said, "Which I cannot escape from."

"DO YOU THINK YOU'RE ALLOWED TO DIE," Byakuran growled as he charged towards the girl, "WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!"

Using his full speed, Tsuna reappeared in front of Byakuran, stopping the man's charge towards Yuni.

"Stay away from Yuni!" Tsuna growled, pushing against the man.

"You've interfered with my plans one too many times! If you intend to stand between us," Byakuran smacked his own head against Tsuna's, sending the boy into a daze, then kicked him up into the air, "Then I'll just have to kill you first!"

Pushing against the barrier, Tsuna propelled himself forward with even more force, tackling into Byakuran and bringing them both crashing into the ground.

"We can no longer afford to be bystanders," Mukuro announced, "Let us destroy the banner and help Yuni out."

"Yeah, you're right!" Dino agreed, "Regardless of what Yuni intends to do, it's too dangerous for her to stay there!"

"But that barrier..." Gokudera growled, blasting a beam of storm flames at it, "Won't even budge!"

"I..." Ed said as he stumbled forward, still covered in wounds, "I might be able to help with that..."

Back inside the barrier, Yuni was completely focused on restoring the Arcobaleno, her surroundings fading into a mere blur.

'_I guess I'll be joining mother and grandmother soon..._' Yuni told herself, an image of Gamma briefly flitting across her mind. She felt her resolve waver slightly, allowing her psyche to be assaulted with much more disturbing imagery. Her eyes snapped back open and her legs buckled slightly.

Tsuna and Byakuran stood, or hovered rather, and stared at each other, panting heavily.

"Looks like you were serious, when you said it was only the start," Tsuna said, breaths coming out in huffs.

"I could say the same for you, Tsunayoshi-kun... I never expected you to last this long," Byakuran forced himself to smirk, but his ragged breathing betrayed him, "But the one who'll take Yuni-chan will be..." Byakuran trailed off, head turning to face the girl.

Tsuna imitated his enemy's motions, eyes locating Yuni quickly. He stared at her, worry flickering in his eyes.

"What's going on?" Dino wondered, "Her flames are growing smaller..."

Her legs finally gave out and Yuni fell to her knees, salty tears flowing out of her eyes.

"Yuni?"

"What's wrong, Yuni?"

"Maybe..." Byakuran said, eyes showing his realization, "She's fearing death?"

"I wouldn't be surprised," Reborn said, "She is a kid after all."

"It's alright, Yuni!" Tsuna called, "We can find some other way to do this!"

Yuni shook her head weakly, "I'm sorry for making you worry. I'll be fine... There is no other way," She stumbled back onto her feet, flames returning with more vigor.

Outside the barrier, Ed was hurriedly drawing a transmutation circle on the outside of the barrier with his blood, "I don't know if this will work, and I don't know how it's even staying on here, but hopefully this'll weaken the barrier enough that you can get through."

Finishing the transmutation circle, Ed pressed his hand onto its surface, "My theory is, that with both the circle and a blood sacrifice, it'll be enough to get enough energy and pull it off... I haven't performed alchemy like this in ages."

Closing his eyes, Ed concentrated and felt a smile creep onto his face when the hum of a transmutation could be heard. He opened his eyes and watched as it glowed with a blue iridescent light, sparks flying every which way. When it faded he stepped back, nodding to Basil who stood ready.

"Okay!" Basil shouted, "Now!"

Floating above everyone's heads was a multitude of Box Weapons, all merging with Basil's rain dolphin.

"It's the combination system of the Box Weapons!" Basil shouted in aw.

"That might be powerful enough to break the barrier," Reborn said, "And if Ed's transmutation worked... we have an even higher chance."

"Now, Alphin!" Basil shouted, leaping up to join in attack with his Box Weapon. The two charged forward, and Basil readied his weapon. They met with the wall, and the sharp edge of his weapon pierced the barrier, multiple cracks and holes forming nearby.

"It's not working!" Basil growled, "It's only making small holes!"

"That's good enough for me," A shadowy figure said, bursting through the small opening and landing nimbly on his feet near Yuni.

"Hey Princess."

"GAMMA!"

"I finally get to see you, only to have you slip away yet again. That's not very fair, is it?" Gamma asked, approaching her, "Won't you use my flames too?"

Pulling her into his arms, Gamma looked at her, a smile on his face, "I won't leave you alone."

"NO!"  
>"ANIKI!"<p>

"Do you remember what you whispered in my ear not to long ago, I still haven't given you an answer," With this, he leaned over and whispered something into her ear. Everyone watching didn't know what the words were, but they saw the tears that trickled down her face, "Come on, don't look so down at a time like this. That's not what your mother taught you."

Looking up, her eyes widened slightly, thoughts of her mother flooding her being. Nodding slightly, she settled into his embrace.

The last expression on her face was a contented smile.

Then they were gone.

Everyone watched as the clothes that used to be found on the pair settled onto the ground, all hints of their wearers gone.

"GAMMA! YUNI!" Tsuna called out. Even Byakuran stared at them in slight shock.

Tsuna shot down towards the pile of clothes, picking up the pink ribbon which was wrapped around the handle of the orange pacifier. He held open his hand and gazed at it, "Yuni..."

"The Arcobaleno aren't reviving!" Fuuta shouted in worry.

From his perch on the ranking master's shoulder, Reborn explained, "No, the flames should have been properly absorbed. It'll take a little more time."

"Hey you... What have you done?!" Byakuran called, floating to the ground, "You killed the final piece of the puzzle that I'd been searching so long for... You've put all my efforts to waste. My dream to awaken the trinisette and make this world far greater than any dimension... is ruined because of all your little friendship games... Do you know... WHAT THIS MEANS?!"

A burst of energy shot out from Tsuna's crouched form, sending Byakuran flying back. He stood up, flames swirling around his form causing his clothes and hair to whip around and disarray, "Who do you think it was that killed Yuni?" Tsuna looked over his shoulder slightly, bangs covering his eyes, "Because you made this world the way it is... Yuni..." He whirled around, eyes glaring harshly at his opponent. A single tear formed on the edge of his eyes, threatening to spill over, "YUNI DIED! I WON'T FORGIVE YOU, BYAKURAN!"

Byakuran squinted a single eye and stared at him in an inquisitive manner, "Hm? You won't forgive me?" An insane cackle rippled up from his chest, "You're a joke of a human being! I'd understand if you saw value in her as a powerful device! After all, Yuni was an important item that I needed in order to become an invincible God! But to see her as a woman of all things! It can only be a momentary intoxication of hormones that you'd think you could oppose me with humanism! If that's your answer to living obediently trapped inside the human society, then it's pathetic!" Byakuran gripped his wrist, flames condensing on it as he readied his attack. His legs seem to rumble slightly as root-like black things shot out from his legs and planted themselves in the ground, "Hypocrisy could never win against the ugly desires of humans! That's how this world is made!"

"Roots are growing out of Byakuran's legs!" Basil shouted in slight disgust as he stared at the man in a mix of shock and horror.

"He's stabilizing his body... He means to put an end to this with a single attack!" Kikyo declared, glancing worriedly at his boss.

"Operation X..." Tsuna murmured, readying his stance. Sticking out a single hand in front of him, and a single hand behind him, he glared cooly at his opponent.

"Tsuna's gonna counter with his X Burner!" Yamamoto stared at his friend, recognizing the stance.

"You really ruined everything for me!" Byakuran growled, flames spiraling around his hands as he readied his attack, "That doll with the pacifiers was my ultimate toy!"

"Don't insult Yuni anymore than you already have!" Tsuna called, soft flames beginning to flow out of the glove behind him as hard flames condensed on the offensive hand, "You don't even deserve to say her name!"

The barrier began to crack, the rapidly increasing power and the weakening of it do to Yuni's passing was too much for it to handle. Pieces began to fall away as the cracks spread everywhere.

"DIE!"

"BYAKURAN!"

Flames shot out of their hands at violent concentration and speed, meeting each other in a battle of overpowering or being overpowered. The two combatants poured their all into the attack, the flames growing and growing. With a burst of strength, Tsuna's flame grew stronger and overpowered Byakuran. The albino's scream was heard as flames engulfed him, burning him to the core. It was cliche, but he felt his life flash before his eyes.

'_I'm not saying that I dislike human beings... I never knew that other people had the ability to tickle your heart, or make it twinge... It's not that I'm giving up... I'm good at finding amusement in things, and when it comes to having fun, I put everything I have into it... but... Somehow this world just doesn't feel right... I'm sure you'll understand. Doesn't it feel wrong?_' Byakuran's eyes met Tsuna's and he could feel himself chuckle in his mind, '_Those eyes of yours tell me that you don't agree in the least._'

'_It's so blinding..._' Byakuran cracked a smile as he began to fade, _'I lose..._'

The flames cleared and the Mare ring plinked as it met with the ground, settling into the crater that had formed do to the flames.

"We... We WON!" Yamamoto and Gokudera called out, grins breaking out on their faces as they ran to their boss.

Mukuro and Dino had small smiles settle on their face.

"Yeah!" Ryohei fist pumped, a grin breaking out onto his face.

"Sawada-dono!" Basil called to the young Vongola don.

"WE'VE DONE IT!"

"WE'VE WON!"

Everyone rushed to the side of the victor, all rejoicing. The flame on his forehead flickered and finally dissipated. He felt his legs shake and he was falling forward, luckily being caught by Ed who smiled slightly, "Woah there, you alright?"

Tsuna nodded at his teacher and looked up as Reborn approached, still on Fuuta's shoulder, "You did well, Tsuna."

"B-But... Gamma... and Yuni..." Tsuna's voice was downtrodden.

Off to the side, Tazaru and Nosaru were kneeling beside Gamma's and Yuni's clothes, tears flowing, "Princess... Aniki! I can't believe this!"

Bianchi had her arms rapped around Haru and Kyoko who were weeping into her shoulders.

"It's not just Gamma and Yuni... This battle hurt so many people..." Tsuna's voice was melancholic, and his eyes were screwed shut.

Ed placed a hand on his head, ruffling the teenager's hair, "Nothing is free, Tsuna... It may seem unfair, but this was the price that had to be paid..."

A loud grunt was heard and everyone directed their attention to the fallen Kikyo, who glared up at the Varia members, who were all threatening to kill him.

"Wait! What are you doing?" Tsuna shouted, reaching out a weak hand towards them, "We don't need anymore damage!"

"Why do you care about this scum?" Levi spat, "He's just a creature who only knows how to kill."

"You're wrong... they were all once normal humans..." A red-head stumbled over towards them, leaning heavily on a crutch.

"Irie Shouichi..." Kikyo glowered, staring at the former Millefiore Member.

"At the time when Millefiore was gathering up strong forces, I was there to check on every country's mafia, military, and assassin, but I never saw them," Irie explained, "Which means that they were normal people that aren't listed in the register."

Kikyo chuckled bitterly, pushing himself off the ground with his hands, "Normal people... That's a cheap way to put it... In the parallel worlds, we were all humans that reigned over our worlds! But, in this world, things were different due to misfortune. Byakuran-sama was the one who changed our weaknesses into strengths!"

The barrel of a gun was pressed to his temple and a gruff voice ground out, "Shut up."

Without a moments hesitation, Xanxus pulled the trigger and sent the Cloud user flying.

Bianchi pulled the girl's in her arms closer, so they wouldn't see.

"XANXUS!" Tsuna cried out in horror.

"Shut up!" He growled, facing the Decimo before turning and walking away.

"It'll be alright~" Lussuria cooed, releasing his box animal and hoisting Kikyo to his feet, "I'll keep him alive~"

Tsuna staggered slightly, and he fell backwards, landing unceremoniously on his butt, "So many people were hurt in this battle... Yamamoto's dad and people from other parallel worlds have died..." Tsuna murmured, eyes glued to the ground, "We've won... but everything's so messed up. Was there any meaning behind this victory?"

They stared at the distressed teen on the ground, none really knowing how to respond to the brunette's question.

"Of course there was, kora!"

Tsuna couldn't suppress the look of shock on his face. He whirled and faced the pacifiers which glowed on the ground. They increased and size and soon, humanoid forms could be seen in the light.

"You all did well, kora!"

"That voice!" Lal Mirch yelled in shock, staring in disbelief at the forms who were standing up, pacifiers hanging from their necks.

"Colonello... That means...!" Tsuna shouted, "The arcobaleno have finally revived!"

Joyous looks stared at the small forms. No one could really believe it, but the facts were staring them right in the face. Literally.

"We all know the situation," Colonello said, "Yuni communicated with us through the flames that went through our pacifiers."

"Yuni?" Tsuna inquired, walking towards the most powerful babies in the mafia.

"Yes," Fong replied, "Yuni also informed us of what influence Byakuran's defeat would have on the world. By Byakuran being defeated and the mare rings losing their power, all the damage in the parallel worlds caused by the mare rings would be erased from the past. In other worlds, all the evil deeds done by Byakuran would disappear without a trace!"

"EH!?" Tsuna shouted in surprise, "Does that mean that Yamamoto's dad and the people killed by Millefiore will come back?!"

"Their deaths will be erased too, I bet." Colonello replied, nodding.

"People... coming back to life...?" Ed stared at them in shock. His scientific mind was racing, trying to find a plausible solution for this phenomena.

Everyone couldn't help the smiles that formed on their face.

"Wait! I'm sorry to damper things, but..." Irie said, "Is rewriting other dimensions even possible? Can you even calculate such things?"

"You fool. The phenomenons caused by the trinisette are far beyond human knowledge and understanding," Verde explained, stuffing his hands into the pocket of his lab coat, "Humans can accomplish nothing by tapping away at their computers when it comes to this. With what knowledge we currently have, we can explain something like this as a miracle or the will of someone."

Edward smiled softly, running a hand through his hair, '_I really should stop questioning things so much... I am a walking talking scientific phenomena after all..._' He faced the green-haired infant and smirked, "Kinda' strange hearing that from a baby."

"But what if someone like Byakuran appears again and tries to use the mare ring for evil?"

"Yuni sacrificed her life in order to prevent that from ever happening," Fong explained, "With the aid of the Arcobaleno's revival, Yuni wanted her 'flame of life' to be undying. This way she would be able to seal away the mare rings in the past - or in other words, your time, forever."

"Is it possible to seal them in the past?" Tsuna inquired, barely being able to grasp the information pouring into his brain.

"She entrusted that task to us," Colonello said, "She sacrificed her life, in order to create eternal peace."

"She did tell you that you could return to a peaceful past, after all," Reborn said, turning to his student.

Tsuna stared at the ground, thoughts wandering to the Sky Arcobaleno. Turning his face skyward, a giant, genuine smile broke out on his face, '_Thank you... Yuni..._'

"Now it's your turn to make your wish come true!" Irie smiled, straightening his glasses.

Tsuna nodded and clenched his fists, "Let's go home to the past!"

* * *

><p>"So we can go back to the past using this machine?" Tsuna inquired, turning to face the red-haired scientist next to him.<p>

"Yes," Irie nodded, "Originally, the 10-year bazooka only enables you to stay in the future for 5 minutes, but this machine was used to interfere with that. All we need to do is release this. The dimensions should be stable too, now that the power balance of the trinisette has been restored."

"The reason we couldn't warp exactly 10 years was because the trinisette's power balance was disturbed and the dimensions became unsteady," Reborn said aloud.

"Don't tell me you just figured that out now, Reborn?" Verde scoffed, "Of course, there's no need to worry about the returning time warp. This genius here will calculate the best time and place for you to return to."

"Can we trust you," Reborn tilted his fedora dangerously, fingers pulling on the brim of his hat.

Ed walked over, wounds now completely healed and glared at the tiny scientist. A frightening shadow cast over his eyes and made the golden haired alchemist appear more threatening then usual, "I don't know you that well, but you're entire being reminds me of someone I'd prefer not to think about. I don't trust you."

"Easy now," Verde straightened his glasses, "I have a debt to repay... to Yuni..."

Tsuna stared at the small group, '_They really give off a scary_ _aura_...'

* * *

><p>After saying their goodbye's, everyone gathered around the machine in the small cavern.<p>

"Alright! Everyone here? It's almost time, but first..." Irie began, "I want everyone to leave their Vongola Boxes here! Please remove them!"

The various box weapons looked sadly at their masters as they said their final goodbye's.

"Okay! We're starting the time warp!" Irie announced, "The Arcobaleno will return once they've finished sealing the mare ring of the past!"

"Now then..." Irie turned his attention to Tsuna and smiled, "Thank you... For everything!"

"Goodbye," Tsuna replied, a soft smile on his face.

"Time warp, START!" Pressing a button, Irie watched as light engulfed the group and they began their journey back to the past.

During that time warp, the Arcobaleno and Yuni gave the group many presents... One was the sealing of the mare rings. Another was that they shared all of the memories of battle together in the future with those in the past. They also brought the Vongola Boxes to the past. With Verde's genius abilities, they were able to create far more compact sized boxes in the form of rings.

* * *

><p>Tsuna fell out of the sky, Lambo, I-pin, and Reborn in tow, and landed with a thud in his back yard. His mom, who was hanging up the laundry, turned around in shock, "What are you all doing there? I thought you were in Tsuna's room!"<p>

"Mo... Mom!" Tsuna's face brightened at the sight of her.

Nana smiled, tilting her head inquisitively at their odd behavior.

"MAMMA!" Lambo and I-pin shouted, jumping into her arms.

"Now, now. What's wrong?" Nana patted their backs, "Does something hurt?"

"Looks like they beat you to it, Tsuna," Reborn commented, smirk on his face as he faced his student.

"Like I'd do that at this age!" Tsuna yelled indignantly.

Nana faced her son once more, prattling off a list of things she needed him to do for her. She leaned closer, noticing things off about her son. Examining him closely she asked him, "Did you fall and scrape your face again? Your face is covered in band-aids. And not to mention those rings... are you copying Gokudera? I wonder if you're becoming rebellious..."

"Eh?! No, these are..." Tsuna hid his hands behind his back, "These are nothing!"

And thus... their battles in the future came to a close, and the group was finally home at last. Hopefully, such a devastating generation will never come to pass again, as long as Tsuna's comrades are by his side.

* * *

><p><strong>LunarFallenStar0o0: YES! IT'S FINALLY FINISHED! SO MUCH TYPING! Well anyway, the future arc FINALLY comes to a close! Since I was updating late, I tried to make it pretty long. I'm really tired, it's almost six in the morning here and I want to go to sleep, so I apologize as there won't be a response to reviews in this chapter. I'll try to respond to the reviews that I was intending to in the next chapter. So good night... I'm gonna' hit the sack. Exhaustion isn't fun. At all.<strong>


	28. Chapter 28

**LunarFallenStar: Hey guys! I apologize for the late update. I've just had my hands full. I'm drowning in essays and projects and assignments. Not to mention we found a Pseudo Tumor pressing on my brother's pituitary gland in his head as well as building pressure in his brain. He's been going to the hospital in the state capital city for treatments once every month and stress and all this other crap that you probably don't want to hear about. Anyway, I'm just very stressed and have been freaking out for quite a while. Here's the update and I hope you enjoy /bows**

* * *

><p>The classroom was abuzz with chatter. The new transfer students were the talk of the school, for most people at least. Ed sat in the front of his classroom, watching as his students conversed enthusiastically. His eyes landed on a certain group of students.<p>

He smirked slightly when he saw Tsuna flushing slightly when Kyoko walked up to him, '_Ah~ So the Vongola Heir likes Kyoko? Let's see what I can do with this._'

Turning back to his desk, the alchemist picked up the single slip of paper which held information about the transfer students. According to the paper, their would be two of the transferring students in his class. Golden eyes widened when they read further, '_S-Shimon Middle School?!_'

* * *

><p><strong>In the Hallway<strong>

A representative from the school's main office escorted the two transfer students towards their designated classroom.

"Welcome to Namimori Middle!" The man prattled on, "You will be in the class being taught by none other than Edward Elric. Now, he may look young, but he is quite qualified. A prodigy, you may say. He can be quite eccentric at times, but I hope you will not be too intimidated by him."

After reaching their destination, they stood outside their classroom, as per the man's order, and waited to be called into the room.

Inside aforementioned classroom, they could hear a young voice speaking.

"Now, class, as most of you know, we'll be having transfer students coming into this class as of today," The voice, presumably the teacher, continued, "Now, hopefully, you won't make them feel unwelcome, so do your best to be kind. Now, um... Shitt P...?"

The two could've sworn they heard the teacher mutter under his breath, "What kind of a name is that? I feel like I'm swearing..."

Taking that as her cue, the female transfer student stepped through the doorway and into her new classroom.

Ed's jaw nearly dropped and whispers spread through the classroom.

"I'm Shitopi-chan," the peculiar girl announced.

Her whole persona was strange. Her head was entirely bald, except for a small tuft of hair on her forehead. Where her hair should be, was a giant 'S' tattoo on the side of her head. Two inflatable rings were wrapped around her, seemingly floating. She wore the Shimon uniform jacket over her own set of clothes.

Ed smiled at her, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly, "Welcome to our school... Shitopi-chan."

All eyes now pried themselves away from the strange transfer student and fell on the other one, standing slightly behind Shitt P.

"And you are?" Ed inquired, eyes closed as he smiled.

"...Kozato... Enma..." The teen murmured quietly.

"Ah, well Enma-kun, Shitopi-chan," Ed said, turning to face the two new students, "Welcome to Namimori Middle!"

The teacher froze when his eyes landed on Enma, golden eyes widening slightly.

The red head was the spitting image of someone else he knew once. Fluffy red hair sat upon the slightly pale teen's head. His eyes were the same crimson as his unruly mass of hair, the pupils resembling a compass of sorts. Bandages covered his face and hands, showing that the transfer student either got into fights often, or he got picked on. Ed was leaning towards the latter. Enma was very scrawny looking, barely filling up his already small Shimon uniform.

He would look even more like the alchemist's old friend if he smiled.

Snapping out of his daze, Ed coughed into his hand and gestured to the class, "Well, take your seats, and we'll get started with the lesson."

* * *

><p>The school day had passed normally, only a few interesting things happening here and there. The Vongola group drew closer to the transfer students, particularly Tsuna and Enma.<p>

Staying late after school to make up for missing teaching days, Ed was currently sorting papers and filing them away, as per usual. Getting back into the swing of things was difficult as he had been in the future for a while. He still wasn't entirely used to switching between a violent mafia guy to a normal school teacher. Then, after things were finally returning to normal, the Shimon transfer students showed up, along with familiar yet new faces.

Suppressing a sigh, he looked up at the clock and noticed how late it was. Almost everyone had already left and the hallways were dark.

"I guess that should be enough work for today..."

Ed slowly packed things into his bag before swinging it haphazardly over his shoulder. Stepping out of the classroom, he was startled when a tiny foot collided painfully with the back of his head, sending him flying into the ground.

Peeling himself from the cold floor, Ed turned and faced the baby hitman, irritation clear on his face.

Reborn stood behind him, hands in his suit pockets.

"What's your problem, you psychotic baby!?" Ed growled, opening his mouth to protest more.

"Ed," The surprisingly serious tone in the infant's voice made all of Ed's protests disappear, "You do know that the Inheritance Ceremony will be taking place soon, right?"

"Well naturally," Ed stated, "Even I've received an invitation, surprisingly."

Pulling a letter out of his suit jacket, Reborn tossed it to the teacher who was now standing once more. Ed caught it quickly and stared at it.

"That was a letter that your new student, Enma, dropped after he was attacked by bullies," Reborn watched for the blond's reactions. Ed turned the letter over in his hands and eyes turned downcast slightly.

"Tsuna told me that he noticed you seemed slightly sad and strange today after the transfer students showed up," Reborn informed, "Then I found that letter... And finally there's your connections with the Vongola... I can only assume you know more than you're letting on."

Golden bangs now shadowed his face, hiding any emotions that might've been found in his eyes.

"Even if you tell me nothing, I will still find a way to get the information," Reborn spoke.

"I don't doubt that in the least, but still..." A smirk settled on Ed's face, and he chuckled slightly, "There are some memories you just shouldn't poke at..."

Looking at the letter one final time, Ed tossed it back to the mafioso. Finally raising his head, light finally shined on his eyes. Melancholic emotions swirled in the burning gold, with tinges of happiness and sadness.

With that, the golden haired teacher turned around, waving over his shoulder briefly before leaving.

Reborn's cobalt eyes stared in the direction he had left before clicking his tongue and leaving the school behind as well.

* * *

><p><strong>The Next Day<strong>

Arriving at Namimori middle, Tsuna was alarmed to find a giant crowd pooling in the front grounds of the school.

"What's going on?" Tsuna asked himself, looking around in confusion.

Quickly elbowing his way through the crowd, he spotted a mop of red hair staring at the scene happening upon the roof. Following the red head's line of sight, he soon spotted the giant banner handing on the front of the school, "EH?!"

"Korekiyo?!" Tsuna questioned, reading the kanji on the sign.

"... It's 'shukusei'..." Enma murmured, correction his brunet friend, "It's Adelheid's committee activity."

"Adel... heid?" Tsuna asked slowly, the name feeling foreign on his tongue.

"She's one of the transfer students that came with us here from Shimon. She's also a third year. Adelheid manages our school's disciplinary committee by violence. She's the president of the Liquidation committee," Enma explained, eyes never leaving the banner.

"Wha-?" Tsuna exclaimed in shock, quickly glancing over at his friend as chills ran down his spine, "That's exactly like Hibari-san's prefect!"

"Look at the roof top!" A student's voice shouted out in the crowd, "Someone's there!"

Tsuna stared at the roof top, and his eyes bugged out of his head as soon as he saw the sight, "AHHH!"

Two figures stood on the ledge of the building, staring each other down. The figure's were clothed mostly in black and the severe distance they were from the ground didn't help the visibility. However, everyone present knew at least one of the figures just by the aura they were emitting.

"Adelheid..." Enma muttered quietly, staring at the female on the roof top.

"Hibari-san!" Tsuna shrieked, staring at the skylark. His eyes looked at the other student standing on the roof and shrieked again, "AH! The Adelheid person too!" In the back of his mind, a single thought entered his mind, '_She's so tall!_'

"Adelheid," Enma said a little louder, "Intends to beat that guy up."

"EH?!" Tsuna grasped his hair in his hands and quickly grew frantic, "If she does things like that, the strongest disciplinary chairman, Hibari-san... Will beat her up! This is bad! We have to do something! let's go Enma-kun!"

"Eh?" Enma inquired quietly, watching as his friend ran off.

"Over here! You know her, right?!" Tsuna yelled back, his voice getting quieter as he disappeared into the sea of people.

Up on the roof, the staring contest continued, the wind dramatically blowing and ruffling their hair and clothes.

"Looks like you're finally ready to fight," Adelheid said, hands clenched into loose fists at her sides.

"Of course," Hibari responded cooly, "Your actions are intolerable. Let's end it here."

Adelheid's eyes widened briefly in shock when the prefect raised his weapons, their steel glinting coldly in the light.

"HIBARI-SAN!"

"You came, Tsuna!" Yamamoto called, looking at his friend.

"Tenth!"

"Yamamoto and gokudera-kun too?!" Tsuna asked looking at his two closest friends. Caramel eyes soon spotted another rather large figure standing nearby, '_Eek! D-Delinquent!_'

"You know, this guy is a friend of a transfer kid who joined the baseball club! He's Kaoru Mizuno," Yamamoto explained, introducing the gruff looking student.

'_I-is he even a middle-schooler...?_'

"What are you doing, Hibari?!"

"Kyoko-chan's brother too!" Tsuna noted, glancing back at the boxer.

"Defeat the Nami student!" A Shimon transfer student shouted, glasses glinting dangerously.

"Looks like you got yourself into trouble, Adelheid," A more overweight person commented, his Shimon school uniform unbuttoned down the front, revealing his t-shirt.

"The other classes' transfer students?" Tsuna inquired staring at the two students.

"Kouyou, Rauji..." Enma murmured, looking at each one in turn.

"So you came too, loser Enma?" The one supposedly named Kouyou inquired, pushing up his glasses.

"Hey," The larger student greeted, waving slightly. He must be Rauji.

Looking up into the sky, Tsuna noticed yet another figure, "Ah! Shitt P's here too! Why are the transfer students gathering here too?!"

"Hey! What's going on up here?"

Most of them turned to locate the source of the new voice. Their eyes landed on a streak of gold as a figure ran up to them.

"E-Edward-sensei?!" Tsuna inquired incredulously, "Why are you here?"

"Sensei?" Kouyou asked in disbelief, "This shorty's a teacher?"

Swinging his fist down, Ed whacked the green-haired boy for his rude comment before turning to face the mafia don, "I'm here to make sure students don't do anything stupid on campus. If these dumb-asses kill themselves, it wouldn't be good. Plus, I can't wait to see Kyo-chan fighting someone possibly close to his strength."

"What are you talking about?" Tsuna shrieked, "Hibari-san might destroy her."

Ed shook his head, "That girl's stance isn't that of an amateur. This is definitely not her first 'serious' fight," A smirk settled on the golden-eyed boy's face, "This could be pretty interesting."

"IT STARTED!" Yamamoto shouted, snapping everyone's attention back to the two prefects' fight.

Lowering her hand down to her skirt, Adelheid quickly grasped a metal fan and snapped it open. Pushing against the cement of the ledge, she propelled herself forward, "Be purified respectfully!"

She swung her hands in a flurry of attacks that blurred together. When they stopped and started was completely undistinguishable to the untrained eye.

Leaning back and forth, Hibari dodged the attacks with finesse. His own movements were practically impossible to see.

"He's... dodging it..." Enma said in amazement and disbelief.

"That's another violation," Hibari chided, eyes slightly closed as he continued to dodge the multiple slashes directed at his person, "Basically I'm the only person who can bring weapons to school."

"For that guy not to waver at Adelheid's beautiful underwear showing attack..." Kouyou said, fist clenching in passion as blood trickled out of his nose slowly, "What a guy."

This caused Ed to hit the guy over the head yet again.

"No matter what, Hibari-san really is strong!" Tsuna said as he watched the fight in slight fear, "That girl better apologize to him!"

"Naive!" Adelheid growled, eyes glaring harshly at the skylark. For a brief instant, something sparked before Adelheid dropped back, bending over backwards and placing her hands firmly upon the cement of the ledge. Using her momentum, she swung her legs over in a back hand spring, the heel of her shoe uppercutting Hibari harshly as it made contact with his chin.

Hibari glared down at her, gritting his teeth in irritation. Swinging down his tonfa, he attacked her harshly, her body flying back as the attack knocked her off her feet. She skidded on the cement, slowly coming to a stop, "Ugh..."

Now in a crouching position, she glared at Hibari with her only open eye. Clicking her tongue in irritation, she opened her fans once more.

The harsh grey eyes of Hibari stared at her, cool and calculating, '_Right now... that was... Flames?!_'

"So you've finally gotten serious," Adelheid said, spitting out blood that formed on her split lip.

"Yeah," Hibari replied, raising his tonfas once more, "I'll bite you to death next."

"EEK!" Tsuna panicked, "This is bad! He's gonna bite her to death! Edward-sensei, you're the teacher do someth-"

The brunet was cut off as a force from behind him pushed him forward, "Then, you go and stop them. Stopping the family's rambles is your job as a boss."

"Geh! Reborn!"

He flew forward, crying out as he soared towards the battle. Hibari and Adelheid approached each other, weapons raised and at the ready. Right as they collided, Tsuna slipped between them, absorbing the shock of their attacks. Collapsing to the ground, Tsuna groaned softly in pain.

"What are you doing? You." Hibari stared down at him nonchalantly.

Adelheid stared incredulously at him, "You didn't die from that?!"

Tsuna paid them no heed and cradled his beaten and bruised face in his hands, "Eeek! OUCH! R-Reborn! Why'd you do that!?" Turning to stare at the small figure standing on the rooftop.

"It's your job as a boss to stop meaningless fights," Reborn replied, pulling out his hat.

"A... baby?" Enma said slowly, looking at the hitman.

"He's speaking fluently..." Kouyou commented in disbelief.

"What are you saying?! This is a school fight! What does that have o do with being a boss and fight!"

"It has everything to do with you," Reborn said, placing his hat atop his head, "They're guests."

"Guests?" Tsuna asked, speech slightly slurred do to his mouth swelling slightly.

Reborn nodded, "Yeah. They're called the Shimon family."

All eyes descended upon the group of transfer students who were now standing together.

"They're a mafia family that was invited to the Vongola Inheritance Ceremony," Reborn explained, pulling out the invitation that Enma had dropped the previous day.

Golden eyes stared at the group before turning downcast and disappearing under similarly golden hair.

"What?!" Tsuna shrieked, "The transfer students are mafia!"

"Yes, all seven are according to my information," Reborn explained.

"then that means, Enma-kun too?!" Tsuna asked, staring at his red-haired friend.

"You never asked..." was Enma's simple reply.

"No way!" Tsuna gripped his hair as multiple thoughts raced through his mind.

"The connection between the Shimon family and the Vongola dates back to very old times. THey've know each other long before the time of Primo. Isn't that right... Edward..."

Feeling the harshly glinting cobalt eyes staring at him once more, along with many other pairs of eyes, Ed turned his head away, fists clenching at his sides. The Shimon family was quite confused at the mysterious teacher's behavior, though all attention returned to Reborn when he continued speaking.

"Though now they've become such a small and weak family, that even I'd never heard of them."

"That's enough, Reborn," Edward whispered quietly, but no one heard him.

The group glared at the baby harshly and Kouyou was the first to speak up, "You sure have guts to say that, you infant! Haven't you ever heard of sugar-coating talk?!"

"Don't think I have," came the simple reply.

"WHAT?! We came all the way here because we were invited to the Inheritance Ceremony!"

"But don't get in over your heads. The reason we transferred was to escape the earthquakes, and Namimori town was convenient since we received the ceremony invitations. In other words, we'll continue to attend school without any interference," Adelheid explained cooly.

"Wait, I'm confused," Yamamoto said, chuckling softly.

"What exactly does this mean tenth?!" Gokudera questioned loudly.

Tsuna waved his hands in a dismissive manner, panicking slightly, "No, I swear it's nothing! Nothing at all! It's just you know... one of Reborn's weird ideas!"

"Get it together already," Reborn chided, kicking the Vongola tenth, "The Vongola Inheritance Ceremony that will take place in seven days... will be a ceremony like no other, where Tsuna will officially inherit the title of 'tenth'."

Gokudera, Ryohei, and Yamamoto all stared at Tsuna in surprise, voices not hiding their excitement and disbelief, "Woah~!

"The ninth knows everything about your fight with Byakuran. He's the one who decided upon this ceremony," Reborn explained further.

Gokudera wiped his eyes as he was overcome with emotion, "The time has finally come! I'm moved beyond words, tenth!"

"No no no!" Tsuna shouted, shaking his head frantically, "I never agreed to this!"

"But wait," Ryohei said, "Didn't Sawada inherit the title of the Tenth when he defeated Xanxus, who was the other candidate at that time? Will having a ceremony change everything?"

"You're really clueless, Ryohei," Reborn smirked, hat shadowing his eyes, "Being a candidate to become boss and officially becoming boss is as different as hell and heaven. To become the boss of Vongola, means to obtain control over the Vongola Families across the world. In other words, it means that he'll dominate the underworld society."

"Eek!" Tsuna shrieked in fear, "The underworld society?!"

"It's a ceremony where great powers are passed on. The entire world of mafia is focusing on this event. Not only will the prominent leaders of Vongola come to see the face of the next Vongola boss, powerful mafia families from around the world will be arriving in Japan for the ceremony in due time," Reborn said, "It's already well known, but the newly rising mafia family, Trad 6, will be coming. As well as the ferocious tigers of Asia, the Leilei brothers, and the grave-diggers of Russia, the Giegue family."

"That's... WAY TO SCARY!" Tsuna shrieked, visibly paling.

Everyone turned when a shout ripped through the air of the rooftop, "HEY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!"

Gokudera clicked his tongue in annoyance, "Tch, the teacher's here."

"See ya!" Reborn called as he jumped off the rooftop, Leon now in the form of an umbrella.

Ed walked up to the seething teacher, charming smile in place, "Sensei, sensei, please calm down. I was just escorting these delightful students back to class."

"E-Elric?!" The teacher stared at the golden-haired man in shock.

"Really, you should be thanking these students. They went out of their way to stop that senseless fight and even made sure no school property was damaged. I hope you can excuse their tardiness just this once. I believe they have very much earned it. Poor Tsunayoshi-kun even took a hit to stop the brawl."

The other teacher blinked a few times before slowly stuttering out a response, "F-Fine! Just get to class!"

As the teacher left the roof top, Ed turned around and gave a small thumbs up. His cheerful smile turned into a smirk as he stared at Hibari, "Don't sleep for too long outside, you might get a cold..." he paused a moment before continuing, "Kyo-chan~!"

The skylark gritted his teeth before walking towards the teacher slowly, anger seething.

"Did I make Kyo-pyon angry?" Ed smirked before retreating towards the stairwell, "I guess Hi-tan just doesn't like being teased."

The two disappeared down the stairs, Hibari with his tonfas at the ready.

The rest of the group walked down the stairs, Kouyou commented quietly, "Quite the... eccentric teacher."

Adelheid, hearing this, could only nod ever so slightly.

* * *

><p>That school day passed without so much as a hitch. Well, there had been a slight hitch. Tsuna had been attacked. Naturally, he was okay with barely so much as a scratch on him. However, Gokudera could not take his precious tenth being attacked sitting down.<p>

He immediately called for a joint assembly between the Vongola and Shimon groups. So, here they were, sitting at the Nammy's restaraunt.

On one side of the booth was the Shimon group, which consisted of Enma, Adelheid, Kouyou, Rauji, and Kaoru. On the opposite side was naturally the Vongola, and those in attendance were Tsuna, Gokudera, Yamamoto, Ryohei, and Edward.

However, Gokudera wasn't pleased.

"WHY ISN'T EVERYONE OF VONGOLA AND SHIMON HERE?!" He growled loudly, earning a bunch of stares from the other customers and wait staff.

"W-well, it can't be helped Gokudera-kun," Tsuna said, trying to calm down his storm guardian who sat down in a huff, "Hibari-san doesn't like crowds, and Lambo went out to play. We called Chrome in Kokuyou Land, but Jyoushima Ken hung up on us."

Upon hearing Ken's name, Edward, who was also attending the small 'meeting' of sorts, growled. He didn't have a good impression of the animal boy after Ken had mistaken him for a girl. Guys can have long hair too, dammit!

Adelheid spoke up as well, "We tried to call all our members too, but Katou Julie is out right now, and Shitt P is busy meditating."

"Wha- Meditating? Her?" Gokudera repeated,, pulling out a note pad and pen, "So she communicates with the depths of the earth around this time of day."

"You're still going on about that?!" Tsuna shrieked in exasperation before trying to change the subject, "A-anyway Gokudera-kun, didn't you have something you wanted to say to us all?"

"YES!" Gokudera shouted in remembrance as he stood up and smacked his hands on the table. Taking a moment to clear his throat before continuing, he began to explain, "Today, you were attacked by some mafia punks that want to interfere with our cermony. There's no guarantee that it won't happen again. That's where Vongola and Shimon need to come together and protect the tenth, along with this area!"

"Huh!?" Tsuna shrieked.

The Shimon's aura grew rather serious and Kouyou clicked his tongue before hissing out a barely audible word, "What?"

"I discovered that both family's members' area of expertise are well divided. So we should form teams between members that share areas of expertise, in order to protect tenth! Firstly, the sport freaks, Yamamoto Takeshi and Mizuno Kaoru. In the third year's building, there's Hibari Kyoya, Suzuki Adelheid, Sasagawa Ryohei, and Aoba Kouyou. In Namimori Park there's Lambo and Ooyama Rauji. And in other areas near Kokuyou, there's Chrome Dokuro and Katou Julie. Of course the one to protect Tenth's classroom will be me and Shitt P.! And lastly, though I doubt He'd be of much help, there's Kozato Enma."

Hearing the Silver haired boys comment on the red head, Edward hissed at him, "Don't be rude when asking for other's help, Gokudera. You're lucky I'm not near you or you would've gotten a fist in your face. Specifically the right one."

The Shimon family briefly wondered why that was so important and why Gokudera gulped slightly.

"You thought this out pretty thoroughly," Yamamoto commented.

"You're pretty worked up about this," Ryohei noted.

"Wait, Gokudera-kun, you don't have to go that far!" Tsuna objected.

"Honestly, in the end this is all just a bunch of nonsense," Kouyou spoke up, "Why do we, as guests, have to take part in this?"

Ryohei and Gokudera visibly glowered, while Yamamoto tensed slightly.

"Families underneath the Vongola Family should cooperate," Gokudera growled, "That's common sense!"

At this, Kouyou rose from his seat as well, "Whoever said we were beneath you?! At least call us equals! You really are a bunch of idiots!"

"What did you say?!" Ryohei spat back.

"Eek!" Tsuna grimaced, "Not good!"

"Desist Kouyou!" Adelheid chided, quieting the boxer.

Gokudera opened his mouth for another snide comment, but was cut off when a strict voice

"That's enough Gokudera!"

All eyes fell on the Golden-eyed teacher in shock.

"But they're disrespecting the Vongola!" Gokudera protested, "And the tenth!"

"I don't care what you think they did!" Edward growled, "I also don't care if you think I'm being out of line or anything of the sort. I'm not speaking as a member of the Vongola family but as your authority and an elder now. The Shimon is an allied family of the Vongola, the longest allied family to be exact, and they are by no means the Vongola's underling. It doesn't matter how much power they do or do not possess, this is not a hierarchy at all. They are still our equals as another mafia family we have ties with. Also, don't make me remind you that you don't hold sway over the decisions of the Vongola family yet."

"What?!" Gokudera growled at his teacher.

"You heard what I said, at the moment you are nothing more than a candidate for the Storm guardian. When the Inheritance Ceremony arrives then you can boss around others. If you die anytime this week, they'll simply find another storm guardian," Ed lectured. Sure he may be blowing things a bit out of proportion, but Ed was livid, "Now sit down and stop your childlike fighting! You're asking an allied family for their support and you must do so respectfully! If you plan on being a guardian, you better get used to it."

The emerald-eyed teen irritably sat down, arms crossed angrily over his chest.

Turning to Adelheid, Ed smiled, "I apologize for forcing you to witness a most horrifying side of me. You were going to say something before I cut you off, so please continue, Adelheid-san."

The long haired girl nodded, "It was no bother..." Clearing her throat, she turned to face the majority of the Vongola group, "I would like to talk with the members who aren't here. Give us some time to think."

"Ah... Okay..." Gokudera murmured, thinking in the back of his mind, '_So she's the leader._'

When the Shimon Family left, Reborn finally appeared, sipping on a drink, "She's really something, that Suzuki Adelheid."

"Hey are you sure this is okay?!" Tsuna inquired, whispering to his tutor, "Gokudera-kun's getting different families involved!"

"Pretty interesting right?" Reborn smirked, "I'm all for it."

"You too?!" Tsuna sighed in exasperation.

'_There's something about Shimon..._' Reborn thought to himself, gaze briefly flicking to Edward who sat staring at his drink quietly, '_If we work with them, I might be able to figure it out._'

* * *

><p><strong>LunarFallenStar0o0: FINISHED! Okay, sorry for another late update... again<strong>

**Anyway... response to review time!**

**YuGiOh-Lover25: I'm glad you liked it! And the fanart you did was out! Still a very praise worthy thing for me. I will always the picture you drew! And I'm glad you like my writing skills (what writing skills XD)**

**majishan: And you are most correct. Ed knows better than anyone.**

**Crimsonlocket: Happy (Late) New Years to you, too Crimson! I've been trying to get a fail outline going, but I have the worst attention span ever. I get distracted by everything. I'm hoping I can find a beta soon. Thanks for the kind words though :)**

**UniCryin: Thanks for the review and I wrote a long chapter again! Huzzah!**

**YuyaKnightwriter97: I kid you not, I'm SO excited to write the Shimon arc! I've been looking for to it for so long. It's just so much fun!**

**fuisr: Thanks for the review! And worry not, no matter how late my updates will be, I have no intention of dropping this story :3 And you are a beautiful person! (don't know why I'm saying this, just thought I should)**

**buslimpan: Thanks for the review and I'm happy it exceeded your expectations. I can't believe people actually like my story, and that's it even worthy of being called fascinating. Thank you.**

**HebaAce: Thanks for the review, and at some point I might do an omake thing of the guardians waking up, I saw a video and I've been inspired! **

**archsage328: Thanks for the review! And I'm so excited for the Shimon Arc! /throws glitter in the air**

**Dgame7: Thanks for the review! And sorry for any errors.**

**Resha Tsubaki: Thanks for the review. Oh cool, I'm glad you liked this story. And I'm planning to end this story at the end of the Reborn manga, or a little bit after that, just so it's not like, BOOM, random ending. Don't worry, I don't really update often (I suck at updating) but I don't plan on dropping this story. I don't really want to spoil what happens to Ed (and something most definitely does happen), so I guess... wait and see? ':)**


	29. Chapter 29

**LunarFallenStar: Well, this was like a ridiculously late update. I'm really sorry, but yeah... it was really busy with doctor visits for my brother and a bunch of other junk that happened that I really didn't have time, nor was I in the mood to write at all. But I'm hoping that I'll be able to update more often now, as I've gotten a lot of my motivation back. Not to mention for a while, my email forwarded all messages from this site to my spam folder and I wasn't aware of that. So, I thought no one really cared anymore, but I guess I was wrong... Not to further delay this chapter anymore, I guess I'll start the story.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Previously<strong>_

_**"Hey are you sure this is okay?!" Tsuna inquired, whispering to his tutor, "Gokudera-kun's getting different families involved!"**_

_**"Pretty interesting right?" Reborn smirked, "I'm all for it."**_

_**"You too?!" Tsuna sighed in exasperation.**_

_**'**_**There's something about Shimon...****_' Reborn thought to himself, gaze briefly flicking to Edward who sat staring at his drink quietly, '_****If we work with them, I might be able to figure it out.****_'_**

* * *

><p>Ed lay asleep in his bed, snoring soundly. It was a peaceful weekend morning, which, in short, meant no work for him whatsoever. He had the freedom to sleep in as late as he wished. The world showed no signs of waking the alchemist from his slumber prematurely. The birds outside were softly chirping, and it seems that everyone in his neighborhood was in agreement with the blond's lazy outlook.<p>

He wouldn't have been woken up under normal circumstances, but he wasn't living under normal circumstances. A loud banging sound caused the blond's eyes to fly open in shock, Ed sputtering and flailing about as he was rudely awoken from his slumber. Landing in a heap on the floor, Ed angrily got up, hastily grabbing the faux skin covers for his automail. Awkwardly bouncing down the hall, he tried to pull one cover over his leg, he soon reached the front door. Quickly giving himself a once over to make sure his automail was well hidden, he slowly opened the door.

He was surprised to find none other than Ryohei, Kouyou, Enma, and Tsuna, Reborn standing atop his right shoulder. Rubbing some of the sleep out of his eyes, he stared at the guests standing on his front porch, "So... Why are you here exactly?"

"Well, those two boxers destroyed Dame-Tsuna's room in order to get out of solving a problem," Reborn replied simply, "And in order to not inconvenience Mama, I thought it would be rather wise to request your services."

Ed sighed, running his hands through his loose hair, "Fine, fine. It's not like I planned on enjoying my weekend. However, I _am_ going to have my breakfast before we go. You just woke me up..."

"We gathered," Reborn said, gesturing to the teacher's sloppy state of dress.

Ed stepped back from the door, inviting the group into his house. When everyone was inside, he closed the door with a dull click and headed towards the kitchen, "Make yourself comfortable... I guess. Do you guys want anything to eat since I'm making something anyway?"

At the groups collective negative, he busied himself in the kitchen, making his breakfast.

Kouyou looked around, whistling softly, "Pretty nice place for a teacher's salary..."

Hearing the comment from the kitchen, Ed called back, "What can I say? I'm a frugal person."

Turning to face the other four at the table, Kouyou mumbled, "I still don't see how a teacher's going to help us rebuild your trashed room."

"You'd be surprised with what Edward-sensei can do... It's pretty shocking actually," Tsuna replied, shyly rubbing the back of his head.

"I'll believe it when I see it."

When his breakfast was all made, Ed walked over and sat down at the table, wasting no time in digging in.

"Your hair... is rather long isn't it?" Kouyou said hesitantly, "It's like... girls' hair almost."

Not stopping his eating, Ed reached over with one hand and whacked the teen upside the head. Swallowing quickly, he replied, "Guys can have long hair too, dumb ass."

* * *

><p>Ed stood in the doorway of Tsuna's room, dressed in casual attire with his hair pulled back in a loose braid. He couldn't help how his eye twitched in annoyance. Glaring at the two fidgeting boxers, he heavily hit them both on the head, "Just how did you idiots manage to do this?!"<p>

The two teens were sprawled on the floor, murmuring quietly to each other, "Your teacher... or whatever the heck he is... has quite the punch..."

Ryohei nodded, "It's quite... extreme."

Turning to face his project, Ed sighed, "Well the sooner I get this over with the better."

He slowly stepped into the wreckage, eyes closing as he focused on the task at hand. A slight grey aura surrounded him, practically filling the space with energy. Four of the five onlookers couldn't help the slight awe they felt at the sight. Magnifying the energy, Ed focused on gathering the needed materials and then deconstructing them, then rearranging them in precise ratios and formations. When he opened his eyes, the room was back to normal. Heck, even the bed was made.

Turning back to face the other people present, he smiled, "Your walls and windows might be slightly thinner Tsuna, as many of the materials were blown out onto the street and who knows where. Whatever those two did, it sure was effective. And Kouyou, you might want to pick your jaw off the floor."

Kouyou opened and closed his mouth a few times before straightening his glasses, "That was rather... impressive."

Ed smirked at the compliment, "No big deal."

The teacher walked over to his brunet pupil's bed and sat down, staring at the four people by the door, "So, I'm assuming that the whole 'Protect Decimo' plan that Gokudera proposed is in full effect now?" he asked, emphasizing his question by looking at Enma and Kouyou in turn.

Tsuna sighed slightly, entering his now repaired room, Reborn still seated on his shoulder. He plopped down beside his table and turned to look at his teacher, "It's almost... overwhelming in a way..."

"Is that anyway to talk about the people who're helping you?" Kouyou said in a snide fashion, crossing his arms over his chest.

Tsuna frantically waved his hands, "No, I'm grateful you'd even be willing to do such a thing! It's just that..." he trailed off, not really sure how to phrase what he wanted to say.

The four teens continued with idle chatter, Reborn remaining silent on Tsuna's shoulder. Ryohei and Kouyou often got into quick and petty arguments, Enma and Tsuna carrying on a much quieter conversation with each other. Ed couldn't help but smile at the scene, feeling his own memories of when he was in their shoes. However, those moments were a long, long time ago. He would waste time with his friends just like them, but now he realizes that he should've done more worthwhile things with them when he had the chance. Ed let too many moments slip by, wasted. He foolishly believed that those times would last forever, but they were slipped by all too quickly, greatly dwarfed by the centuries he spent alone.

Ed chuckled, a hint of sadness detectable in it, "Youth, it seems, is truly wasted on the young."

The people sitting in the room turned to look at him, with varying stages of confusion. Enma hesitantly spoke up, "But aren't you rather young yourself."

Ed laughed a little louder, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, "I guess you could say that."

After the initial confusion at the teacher's comment, they returned to their conversation. Tsuna's eyes, however, kept on flitting back to stare at his teacher every now and again. A few thoughts plagued his mind, '_Just what is Edward-sensei thinking? Is he hiding something from us?_' Tsuna shook his head to clear his mind of such thoughts. Nothing could be gained from pointlessly doubting and questioning your friends.

A few hours of simple small talk pass by before Nana quietly knocks on Tsuna's door, stepping inside, "Dinner is ready! Oh, Elric-san, I didn't see you arrive! Feel free to join us if you like!"

Flashing a charming smile, Ed replied, "Just Edward or Ed is fine, Sawada-san, and I'd be delighted to join you. I've heard nothing but great things about your cooking."

Nana smiled, "Well Edward-san, feel free to call me Nana," On that note, she turned and exited the room.

Kouyou stared at the teacher in slight confusion, "He sure can pull off quite the personality switch when he needs to."

Tsuna chuckled humorlessly, "You haven't seen the half of it..."

The group made their way to the kitchen downstairs, seeing a plethora of various foods lining the table. Nana called over to them, "Feel free to dig in! I need to run to the store really quickly for something I need. I'll be back soon."

They could hear the dull sound of the front door closing as they began to eat. Tsuna fidgeted slightly in his seat before speaking up, "Um, Kouyou-san, who will be guarding me tomorrow?"

Kouyou looked up, rice sticking to the corners of his mouth, "Ah, Mizuno will be the one guarding you tomorrow, I believe."

Tsuna paled slightly, "The Mizuno-kun that's guarding me tomorrow is that delinquent looking guy right?!"

"Mizuno's not that bad," Kouyou trailed off, "Though he is known as 'The Hospitalizing Dynamite Devil Kaoru'."

"I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO RELAX AT ALL DURING THE WEEKEND IF THAT SCARY GUY WAS WATCHING ME ALL DAY!"

Looking up with food stuffed in his mouth, Ed gave a slight not, "Valid point. That guy was pretty huge. Will he even fit in your house?" His comment was slightly muffled by all the food in his mouth.

Reborn looked at his student and began to state a solution, "Who said that he has to come here to guard you? Why don't you go to be guarded instead? The place he is at should be pretty open and so you shouldn't feel too restricted."

Tsuna's tension lessened slightly as he turned to face his tutor, "Where is it?"

* * *

><p>Tsuna ran up to the baseball field, panting slightly. It turns out that Mizuno actually ended up joining the baseball club, as opposed to what he initially proposed. He saw Yamamoto kneeling in the catcher's position, his mitt raised and ready to catch any pitch the rather tall teen threw at him.<p>

As he approached the duo, Tsuna raised a hand in greeting, "Yamamoto-kun! Mizuno-kun!"

"Hey, Tsuna!" Yamamoto called over to him, "I'll be guarding you too! The kid filled me in to everything."

Tsuna nodded in understanding. In a few moments, he noticed something missing and looked around in confusion, "Where's the rest of the baseball team?"

Yamamoto shrugged, replying nonchalantly, "They ran off when they heard that Mizuno was coming."

The brunet tean deadpanned at the answer, shocked out of his slight stupor when he heard someone yelling at him. Turning he saw Gokudera running up to him, "Good morning, tenth! I'll leave the baseball idiots to guard this area, while I head off to patrol the perimeter."

Tsuna sighed, '_He's so natural at this to a worrying degree..._'

Watching as the two baseball players continued to talk to each other by what exactly they'd be going over this practice, Tsuna zoned out, lost in his own thoughts, '_I thought I'd be able to think of ways to get out of the Inheritance Ceremony this weekend, but it just keeps getting more and more out of hand._'

He was once more startled from his daydreams by a slightly high pitched voice behind him, "Don't tell me you're thinking up pitiful ideas. To distract you, I brought along your equally pitiful friend."

Looking behind him, Tsuna saw Enma and Reborn approaching, the red head out of breath and panting heavily.

"Enma-kun!" He approached his friend, noticing a smeared, sticky red substance clinging to his cheek, "Is that... sauce on your cheek...?"

Enma looked away awkwardly, replying, "I was having some Takoyaki, but a dog tried to steal them from me and I had to have Reborn save me..."

Tsuna just stared at his fidgeting friend, mouth hanging a gape and overall just at a total loss, '_A dog tried to steal food from you...? Even I've never had that happen to me..._'

"What's all the commotion out here for?"

Turning, Tsuna saw Edward approaching them, exiting the school building, "Edward-sensei? Why are you here so early today?"

Edward sighed in exasperation, running a hand through his bangs, "Well, the school called an emergency staff meeting on a weekend for who knows what reason. I was so tired I didn't even pay attention, and I fell asleep, so then I got a lecture for falling asleep. Uptight teachers are pretty scary when they're wound up too tightly. I was going to head home... but it seems like something here is pretty interesting, judging by the 'crowd' out here on a weekend."

"That's quite the... chain of events..." Tsuna replied.

"Ah, Enma-kun, you've got some sauce on your face," Pulling out a handkerchief of sorts, Ed passed it over to the red haired teen who took it with a silent thank you.

The group turned to face the field, watching as Yamamoto called out cheerily, "Let's get started!"

He paused for a few moments, waiting for Mizuno to pitch. When the teen gave no sign of throwing the ball, Yamamoto smiled softly and spoke up, "What's wrong, Mizuno? Throw! Show me a good Pitch and prove to the rest of the team what you're made of! If you show them some impressive pitching, I know the team will change their minds!"

Mizuno clicked his tongue and dropped the baseball, "This is a waste of time!"

Tsuna jumped at the outburst, Ed let out a slight whistle, "Dang..."

Yamamoto tilted his head to the side slightly in a silent question. A few moments pass before he speaks, "What, do you not want to throw, Mizuno?"

He only offered a silent nod.

"But I thought you wanted to be pitcher?"

Looking at his shoes, Mizuno offered a silent nod once more.

Yamamoto chuckled softly, "What's that supposed to mean? Then take your time and I'll just wait until you feel ready to pitch, okay?"

This light hearted response caused Mizuno to look up in slight shock.

Tsuna stared in disbelief at his friend, "Yamamoto really is amazing... he can be kind to anyone..."

Edward nodded in agreement, "Number one pep talker award goes to Yamamoto. I don't think I've ever seen that kid not be nice to someone..."

Enma offered his own nod of agreement.

Mizuno looked down at his shoes once more, voice surprisingly soft as he spoke, "It's just that... I'm embarrassed... To pitch in front of people..."

Yamamoto's eyes widened, Edward almost choked on air, and Tsuna just shrieked, "What the heck?!"

Reborn stared calmly at the pitcher, "A shy one..."

Yamamoto stood up, smiling, "I see! So you get nervous when other people are watching! Then let's get over this fear together!"

Reborn spoke up from his spot on a bench to the side, "How about imagining that the people watching you are vegetables? You wouldn't be nervous if you thought you were surrounded by pumpkins and tangerines, would you?"

Mizuno looked disheartened as he spoke, "I tried that too... but I still get nervous..."

Reborn sighed, looking up as Yamamoto walked over to him, "My little league coach once told me that the reason the trick never worked is because I couldn't picture the people completely as vegetables."

Reborn hummed slightly, before smirking, "I might have an idea..." Pulling out a phone from his pocket, Reborn wasted no time in dialing a number.

A few minutes passed before they heard hurried footsteps in the distance. Ed looked behind them and saw none other than Haru running up to meet them, "Nice to meet you! I'm Miura Haru, and I go to Midori Girl's Middle School! Thanks for taking care of our Tsunayoshi-kun."

She turned to Reborn and smiled, "I brought what you requested, though the costumes might need to be fixed up slightly where rips and tears are."

Yamamoto smiled broadly and walked over to the pile of items the young girl had brought with her, "Woah! I'm surprised you had vegetable costumes!"

"Vegetable costumes?" Tsuna asked in disbelief, "You don't mean to say that we'll be wearing these things?"

More people approached the group, and Reborn smirked, "We needed a larger crowd too, for the full effect."

"It looks like we've got a lot of work ahead of us though," Haru sighed, "They really are rather beaten up..."

"Tsuna and Enma, you help too."

"No no no no," Edward walked up to the group, "I've got this, don't worry. And besides..." He pointed at the two whom were just called out to, "I don't trust those two with needles. They could stab their eyes or something and mending nerves and veins and flesh isn't exactly my forte."

He stepped towards the costumes and briefly looked around at the sizes of the people who would be wearing them. Once he had a clear design in his head, he closed his eyes and concentrated on the material in front of them. Opening them once more, he gazed at his handiwork, smirking, "There, practically seamless recovery!"

Mizuno was slightly shocked at the ability, but didn't let it show. Instead, he turned to Yamamoto, "All this... for my sake?"

"Come on! We're friends, so it's no big deal," Yamamoto laughed happily.

After everyone made a quick wardrobe changed, they gathered around and watched as Mizuno readied to pitch.

"What do you think, Kaoru? Do we look like vegetables?" Yamamoto chuckled.

"Feels like... I'm in a bowl of salad..."

"Right on! Let's throw now!"

Mizuno nodded slightly, stepping into position on the pitcher's mound. Staring at his target, he wound up his arm, lifting up his leg in preparation. In a swift, smooth motion, he spun, flinging the ball with brute force towards it's target. Yamamoto hurriedly caught it, skidding back slightly. He looked into his mitt to remove the ball, but was surprised to find nothing there.

Ed gaped, his own jaw dropping for once, '_THIS STRAIGHT UP DEFIES ALL SCIENTIFIC LAWS I KNOW!_'

Reborn just whistled, slightly surprised at the incredible force exerted by the teen, '_Mizuno Kaoru... Just what is he made of..._'

* * *

><p><strong>LunarFallenStar: Anyway, hope you actually liked that... And that it wasn't too terrible or dumb... Well review responses now.<strong>

**Crimsonlocket: Thanks for that, Crimson. Luckily the tumor's not as bad now, but it's still pending.**

**diskidi: Thanks for your kind review! My bro's doing a lot better now, and I'm hoping that you liked this chapter as well. And I'm so happy you read my work so often. It's rather humbling that people enjoy my dumb attempts at writing!**

**YuyaKnightwriter97: Well, here's the new chapter and I hope you liked it!**

**UniCryin: Thanks for the review! Glad you liked the chapter length, it's rather tiring to write for a long time, but it's something I enjoy!**

**HebaAce: I'm planning to have Ed take a lot more prominent role in this arc, as it directly correlates to Ed's past. And since he's not exactly the type to let sleeping dogs lie, I'm hoping I'll be able to portray him taking more charge, per se.**

**archsage328: The Shimon arc is one of my personal favorites as well, if not the upmost favorite for me. I really do hope they get around to animating the rest of the show, but at this point I don't know if they will, sadly. And on the two points you brought up, I have to agree. I believe that the ninth gen. guardian isn't deceased, as it probably would've been brought up at some time, but as he's only injured (severely) it probably wouldn't be that important to hit on fully. And with the flame, I'm not exactly sure, but I do like your theory!**

**Lucenthia: Thank you so much for your kind reviews! I'm so glad you like my story!**

**Guest: Well, to the various guests that reviewed, thank you very much for taking the time to do so. But in address to two specifically, I planned to keep Ed on more of the side, because personally many of these matters don't affect him too strongly I guess. However, during the Shimon arc, I am planning to make him a more... influential character, put simply, and he will be taking charge and such.**

**AnnaBella07: Thank you for such a kind review, and don't worry, I don't plan on abandoning this fic, however it might take some time to finish depending on updating speed.**


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